Branded Beef

The inherent nature of beef cattle is such that there are many variables in determining quality. Safety, grade, location of cut and trim all contribute to beef quality measures. With these variables, and the economics involved with quality (or lack thereof), beef producers, packers and distributors brand their beef to maximize consistency and return.

The process of branding or product differentiation, by its very nature, requires additional costs over and above the costs that would be incurred if no product differentiation took place. In the case of beef, such additional costs include everything from higher priced breeding animals to special penning and feeding regimes to separate harvesting, certification, chilling and packaging systems. At the very least, there must also be additional market promotion costs since, if no market promotion is done, how will end users know that the branded product is any different from the unbranded one?

A beef brand, or any brand for that matter, consists of various product attributes, both functional and emotional. Functional attributes are those that can be specified, recorded and measured. Quality based beef brands are based, first and foremost, on functional attributes. Emotional attributes, on the other hand, are those characteristics that are difficult to measure but come from the consistent delivery of the brand functional attributes.

Examples of Functional Attributes Grade Age Trim level Location of cut Cattle size Box size Inspection Examples of Emotional Attributes Trendiness Product positioning Perceived brand equity Natural / Organic beef

FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES affect the tenderness, juiciness, or flavour of the finished product (grade, age, cut selection), contribute to the financial performance of the product (yield), assist with execution of the product (sizing of cattle, box size, marketing support), and ensure consistency (third party verification).

EMOTIONAL ATTRIBUTES are difficult to measure and much more influenced by individual perception. In other words, what is a benefit to one person may be seen as a detriment to another. Because emotional attributes are a moving target, quality based brands cannot be based on emotion.

There are a number of reasons that a quality-based branded beef program would be developed. First and foremost is, of course, quality. If beef is not branded, it is referred to as commodity beef and with commodity beef, or beef in packer boxes, grade is usually the only quality attribute that is specified. As you now know, quality is comprised of several functional attributes, all contributing to the tenderness, juiciness and flavour of the finished product.

Quality-based branded beef programs, those which specify functional attributes, deliver added value and integrity to the customer, help secure market share and usually command premiums over commodity beef. Forty-four percent of customers in a recent study indicated that buying beef is a "game of chance" (BIC Quality / Tracking Study 2000) - branded beef delivers on consistency, reducing the guess work. Critical to a beef brand's success is maintaining the higher standards set out in the beginning. When brands do not consistently deliver on the promise, over time they fail.

Brands are becoming more and more popular as awareness and expectations on the part of operators continue to rise. To accurately compare beef brands in terms of quality, one must look at the quality attributes outlined previously and leave the marketing of the brands aside.

Beef programs come in many forms from very high quality branded programs to commodity boxed programs. The two main difference between the high end and the low end are usually Quality and Price. Though the programs offered in different markets will vary, you will usually find a number of different beef brands, ranging from the very high end to the very low end. Below are examples of different brand levels and the characteristics of each.

GENERIC BRANDS are those beef brands that do not implicitly incorporate quality attributes into the specification but are often packaged to resemble more high quality brands found in the marketplace. Generic brands could be a distributor brand which is nothing more than commodity beef in a custom box. The measures of quality that have been discussed are often unspecified and the customer does not really know what he is buying. The success of these brands rely heavily on brand recognition as opposed to science-based attributes affecting tenderness, juiciness and flavour.

PROS: Possible brand identity
CONS: Unclear specifications, questionable content

COMMODITY BEEF is beef packed in packer boxes and just grade based. Commodity beef makes up the majority of beef sold at foodservice but fails to deliver on a number of fronts, including sizing, trim specification, box size, consistency, aging and breed. The clear advantages of commodity beef is price and availability but it comes at a huge concession, specifically the other attributes that help ensure quality beef.

PROS: Price, availability, grade-specific
CONS: No other quality attributes incorporated, inconsistency of product, large case size, market driven pricing, difficult to market to guest

GRADE BASED PROGRAMS are not beef brands, rather a simply a grade. For example, "Joe's AAA Beef" is simply commodity beef that graded Canada AAA. In other words, there are no measurable quality attributes, beyond grade, that contribute to tenderness, juiciness or flavour. There is sometimes confusion about what constitutes quality beef and grade is only one of many measurements of quality. Additionally, if we look at the Canada AAA grade, there exists considerable difference between the top end of AAA (moderate marbling) and the bottom end of AAA (small marbling). Without a range of marbling specified, and simply a grade, marbling levels will fluctuate within a given grade.

PROS: Grade-specific, grade verified
CONS: Can be expensive (depending on grade), inconsistent specifications beyond grade, inconsistency in marbling levels within the grade

CERTIFIED BEEF BRANDS almost always incorporate quality attributes designed to deliver great steaks and roasts. Measure of grade, aging, sizing, trim and sometimes breed are specified for consistency. Examples of certified beef brands are Certified Angus Beef®, SYSCO Butcher's Block Reserve, Sterling Silver and IBP Chairman's Reserve Beef, to name a few. There is no doubt that these are all high quality beef brands but they come at a very high premium. Because their specification includes only the top part of Canada AAA, there is a limited supply and, therefore, higher price are usually charged. Not all certified beef brands include all quality attributes as part of their specification so be sure to find out what is included in the brands in your marketplace.

PROS: Quality-based attributes, brand owner marketing support, menu marketability, sometimes offer a guarantee
CONS: Highly valued, limited supply, limited cut selection, sometimes confusing marketing messages and claims

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