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Frequently Asked Questions

Nine Out of 10 Healthcare Professionals Advocate Beef Consumption After a Successful Medical Office Outreach Campaign1

In a world where opinions on what to eat are so diverse, many consumers find themselves relying on the recommendations of doctors and medical professionals. With their wealth of knowledge and experience, doctors are seen as trusted guides for both people’s individual health and for parents looking to give their children the most nutritious meals. Knowing the significance of a doctor and patient relationship, the Beef Checkoff ensures that doctors and medical offices are well informed about lean beef’s role in a balanced, nutritious diet.

Strong Minds, Strong Bodies Toolkits

Recently, a beef toolkit, Strong Minds and Strong Bodies, which focused on school-aged and adolescent nutrition, was delivered to 3,324 targeted family practice and pediatric health professionals across 48 states. The toolkit materials included a “Dear Health Professional” letter, a MyPlate teaching tool and beef tips and recipes for parents. Of the toolkits delivered, 51 percent of them went to pediatric offices and 49 percent went to family practice1.

Following the delivery of the toolkits, a post-program survey was sent out to medical professionals and consumers to measure the program’s success.

Responses showed 91 percent of professionals have already recommended beef to patients and 95 percent of consumers have prepared or plan to prepare meals that include beef since receiving these materials1. Additional results showed:

  • More than 7 in 10 professionals feel a more favorable impression of beef as a nutritious, high-quality protein food to support children1.
  • More than three-quarters of professionals feel more knowledgeable about the role of beef as a nutritious, high-quality protein food to support children1.
  • Seventy-four percent of consumers said their health professional specifically recommended beef as a nutritious part of a balanced meal1.
  • Receiving the handout from their health professional makes 76 percent of the respondents more likely to prepare a meal for their child that includes beef1.

Heart Health Cookbooks

Additionally, heart health cookbooks were delivered to 854 family practice and cardiology professionals nationwide. Within those cookbooks were a health professional letter written by the cookbook author in collaboration with the beef nutrition team, a beef research booklet, and pamphlets on lean beef in a heart-healthy diet that medical professionals could share with their patients.

Responses to this effort were also very positive, with 76 percent of medical professional and consumer respondents saying they found the cookbook to be valuable1. Respondents commented on how visually appealing the cookbook was and how the letter added a personal touch. One respondent specifically added, “The research studies were very informative for providing evidence for including lean beef in a healthy, balanced diet.”

The doctor’s office mailing program is only one part of the Beef Checkoff’s nutrition and health program. This promotion would not be possible without Checkoff-funded human nutrition research, which is the foundation for all industry nutrition education and communication initiatives. Explore the current Checkoff-funded human nutrition research projects and resources that are shared across consumer and health audiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

On this episode of The Drive in Five, learn how the Beef Checkoff monitors and manages issues and tactics to defend beef production practices. Also, get an event recap from the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 NASCAR race in Daytona, Florida.

[Embed YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/CJvyWMAtVQM]

Frequently Asked Questions

The Beef Checkoff’s principal role is to successfully drive demand for beef. To accomplish that goal, the Checkoff must connect and engage with a wide variety of audiences. While reaching the core target audience is crucial, the Beef Checkoff is expanding its efforts and working to reach all segments of the beef consumer audience. And by utilizing the power of Checkoff-funded nutrition and health research, it unlocks opportunities to reach an important audience group – infants and toddlers.

BEEF IN THE EARLY YEARS

Sound science is at the core of many Beef Checkoff-funded promotional campaigns. A growing body of scientific evidence has illustrated the beneficial role beef’s nutrients play in the physical and cognitive development that happens during the first few years of life.

A Beef Checkoff-funded research paper, Meat Helps Every Bite Count, underscores the fact that infant’s internal iron and zinc stores begin to deplete around six months of age. Further, this research reinforces the need for high-quality dietary sources of iron and zinc, like beef, in the early years. The unique, nutrient-dense matrix of beef makes it an ideal first complementary food to help meet an infant’s nutrient needs. Because infants and toddlers typically eat small quantities of food, it’s critical to make every bite count in those early years.

As a result of the growing body of research in this area, for the first time, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) committee addressed the need to provide authoritative guidance on nutrition recommendations for children from birth to 24 months of age. Specifically, the committee recommended animal-sourced foods, such as beef, as a foundational protein source to support healthy growth for infants and toddlers.

With these advantageous recommendations from the DGA as well as from The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Women, Infants and Children’s Program, the Beef in the Early Years promotional campaign launched back in 2021 with great success, and much of the campaign was rolled into 2022.

Over the past couple of years, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. has extended this campaign, reaching health professionals, parents and caregivers from across the nation with attention-getting materials, infographics, preparation guides, eating tips, videos, recipes and more. These materials have been promoted through YouTube, Google search, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Spotify and podcasts, reaching more than 1.7 million consumers and more than 1.3 million health professionals. Since its launch, Beef in the Early Years has reached more than 32 million consumers with information that supports introducing beef to infants. Here are a few ways Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. achieved those remarkable results:

  • Partnerships with five leading, credentialed nutrition influencers helped reach more than 112,000 consumers via social media and blog posts.
  • Messaging in top-tier nutrition and health journals and e-blasts provided health professionals with educational opportunities. These efforts had a circulation of more than 1.3 million.
  • More than 2,500 health professionals registered for an educational webinar where they learned about the nutrient adequacy and safety of incorporating solid foods – including beef – when implementing the baby-led weaning approach.
  • An episode with the popular podcast, The Nourished Child, featuring Dr. Michael Georgieff was downloaded more than 2,000 times on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and Stitcher. Dr. Georgieff highlighted the importance of iron in children’s health and their brain development.
  • Meat Helps Make Every Bite Count: An Ideal First Food for Infants, research paper was published in Nutrition Today. This article has already been viewed more than 3,800 times.

BEEF FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

Beef Checkoff-funded nutrition programming didn’t stop at Beef in the Early Years. In fact, those efforts rolled right into expanding beef’s benefits across the lifespan by highlighting beef as a tool for growth and development throughout childhood and adolescence.

This past August, to mark the start of the school year and World Iron Awareness Week, the Beef Checkoff emphasized beef’s role in building strong minds and strong bodies in school-aged children. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans said many children and adolescents aren’t getting enough high-quality protein, iron, zinc, choline and vitamins B6 and B12, which are critical nutrients for proper growth and development. High-quality sources of protein and iron, like beef, deliver many of these nutrients. As many parents and caregivers turn to health professionals for guidance on providing proper nutrition to children and teens, the Beef Checkoff found value in funding these health professional education opportunities:

  • In-office educational toolkits were delivered to doctor’s offices across the nation. Offices have received approximately 1,500 toolkits to date, with more expected to be delivered in early 2023.
    Partnerships with five leading, credentialed nutrition influencers reached 332,000 people on social media.
  • An EatRight Pro and Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief delivered an advertisement and e-blast to more than 406,000 health professionals.
  • State Beef Councils utilized an educational presentation with updates on school lunch nutrition and opportunities to support beef as part of the school lunch program.

Whether through connecting with medical professionals or educating parents, the Beef Checkoff’s nutrition and health program is not only working to further drive demand for beef – it’s also trying to give these audiences the tools and materials they need to help infants, toddlers and adolescents build healthy and strong minds and bodies.

To learn more about the Human Nutrition Research Program and Beef in the Early Years, visit: BeefResearch.org/Programs/Human-Nutrition

Frequently Asked Questions

Capitalizing on the power of personal interaction is the name of the game for the Beef Checkoff’s Nutrition and Health Team in 2023. Nutrition and health professionals, researchers, dietitians and nutrition influencers are essential advocates for beef and can support its role in a healthy lifestyle. Now more than ever, consumers rely on the advice and recommendations of their healthcare professionals (HCP), and trust between HCPs and consumers are at an all-time high.

TRUST FROM CONSUMERS

  • Registered dietitians and nutritionists are the most frequently consulted health professionals for nutrition and healthy eating information.2
  • They are the most trusted source of information about which foods to eat or avoid. 3.
  • 77% of global consumers say that the advice of dietitians and nutritionists impacts which foods they buy. 4

TRUST WITHIN THE PROFESSION

  • Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) (62%) are the third-most-used source of information by HCPs to stay informed about food and nutrition, after Professional Associations (69%) and Academia (67%).5
  • 79% of HCPs refer their patients and clients to RDNs.
  • 94% of RDNs use other RDNs as food and nutrition sources of information.5

Knowing the considerable value and extensive consumer influence these healthcare professionals have, the Nutrition Team is intentionally building relationships and strategically providing evidence-based research and resources to this audience. These graphs show how HCPs prefer to receive and share nutrition and health information:

With this research in mind, the Nutrition Team closed out 2022 with a couple of in-person conferences and events to establish new relationships and strengthen existing connections with health professionals. The Nutrition Team partnered with Produce for Better Health to host a #BetterTogether reception at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Orlando, Florida. This event attracted more than 80 health professional attendees to collaborate on ways to pair beef and produce to optimize health and nutrition.

Following FNCE, the Nutrition and Health Team moved straight into hosting a three-day nutrition influencer “Meat-Up” event to build relationships with 15 leading Registered Dietitian influencers and offer valuable beef nutrition education sessions. Between beef nutrition 101 presentations, a hands-on culinary education workshop, social media masterclass and a beef sustainability and industry panel, attendees could experience multiple aspects of beef nutrition. Attendees’ specialties ranged from pediatric nutrition to diabetes management to sports performance. Together they had a collective social media reach of more than 1.2 million consumers.

Also, the Nutrition Team is developing a Nutrition Seminar Program to increase collaboration and involvement with state beef councils. This program will place credentialed expert speakers at state-wide healthcare meetings across the country. Currently, the team is working on securing speaking engagements for 22 credentialed experts at health professional education conferences this year. Additionally, as February recognizes National Heart Health Month, the Nutrition Team is partnering with four nutrition influencers to share research and resources that supports lean beef’s role in a heart-healthy diet.

The vital work of the Nutrition and Health Team is establishing lean beef as the protein of choice in healthy diets. Effectively engaging nutrition and health professionals and remaining grounded in sound science encourages higher demand for beef, which leads to greater success for producers everywhere. Beef Checkoff efforts will continue to build a solid foundation and seek opportunities to connect with these professionals.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was a “city girl” – until I married a third-generation dairy farmer. Since then, my husband and I have been actively involved in running our family dairy in Okarche, Oklahoma. Many of those years were also spent raising our four children, and now, we also have 10 beautiful grandchildren. It’s no wonder that as a wife, mom and grandma, I’ve always been very interested in health and nutrition. I’ve spent decades cooking meals I hoped were nutritious enough to help my kids grow up into healthy, vibrant adults. Now, as a co-chair of the Beef Checkoff’s Nutrition and Health Committee, I’m taking my interest in healthy eating and applying it to help drive beef demand.

The beef checkoff’s principal role is to successfully drive demand for beef. To accomplish that goal, we need to engage with a wide variety of consumers. That’s why we’re expanding our efforts and working to reach consumer audience segments. And through the power of checkoff-funded nutrition and health research, we’ve unlocked new audience groups, from infants and toddlers to teenagers and beyond.

BEEF IN THE EARLY YEARS

We now have scientific evidence touting the beneficial role beef’s nutrients play in a child’s physical and cognitive development. The research paper “Meat Helps Every Bite Count” says that infants as young as 6 months of age need high-quality dietary sources of iron and zinc as their internal stores begin to deplete after birth. The unique, nutrient-dense matrix of red meat, such as beef, makes it an ideal first complementary food.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recently recommended animal-sourced foods, such as beef, to support healthy growth for infants and toddlers. Backed by this recommendation as well as support from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Women, Infants and Children’s Program, checkoff-funded “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner” launched a “Beef in the Early Years” promotional campaign in 2021.

“Beef in the Early Years” has reached health professionals, parents and caregivers nationwide with attention-getting materials, infographics, preparation guides, eating tips, videos, recipes and more. These materials have been promoted through YouTube, Google Search, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Spotify and podcasts. Since its launch, the campaign has reached more than 32 million consumers with information that supports introducing beef to infants around six months old.

Here’s how Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. achieved those remarkable results:

  • A new nutrition research paper “Meat Helps Make Every Bite Count: An Ideal First Food for Infants” was published in Nutrition Today, garnering more than 3,800 views, a number that’s expected to keep increasing.
  • Messaging in top-tier nutrition and health journals, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the HealthyChildren Magazine educated health professionals about beef’s benefits. E-blasts were sent through lists provided by EatRight Pro and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  • More than 2,500 health professionals registered for an educational webinar with dietitian Katie Ferraro about the nutrient adequacy and safety of incorporating solid foods – including beef – when implementing the baby-led weaning approach.
  • Partnerships with five leading nutrition influencers helped reach consumers via social media and blog posts featuring tips for introducing beef to infants and recipes that the whole family could enjoy.
  • An episode featuring Dr. Michael Georgieff on the popular podcast The Nourished Child was downloaded more than 2,000 times on various platforms. Georgieff highlighted the importance of iron for a child’s brain development.

BEEF FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

While beef is an important food for babies and toddlers, it’s also great for the growth and development of older children and teenagers. This past August, to mark the start of the school year and World Iron Awareness Week, the beef checkoff emphasized beef’s role in building strong minds and strong bodies. The DGA says many children and adolescents aren’t getting enough high-quality protein, iron, zinc, choline and vitamins B6 and B12. To spread the word about beef’s high-quality protein and iron, the Checkoff funded these initiatives:

  • In-office educational toolkits were delivered to doctors’ offices across the nation. The toolkits included a letter, an educational tool and a tear pad for parents and caregivers. Offices have received approximately 1,500 toolkits to date, with more expected to be delivered in 2023.
  • An EatRight Pro and Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief advertisement and e-blast provided information about beef’s key nutrients for children and teens to more than 406,000 health professionals.
  • Partnerships with five leading nutrition influencers featured quick and nutritious school lunches, opportunities to increase protein and iron in adolescence and tips to ensure children build strong minds and bodies.
  • Through a partnership with the Retail Dietitians Business Alliance, the checkoff shared two educational e-blasts and a sponsorship page with educational resources that emphasize the value of beef for children and teenagers.
  • The beef checkoff-funded nutrition team continues to work closely with the Federation of State Beef Councils by offering an educational presentation by Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, with updates on school lunch nutrition and opportunities to support beef as part of the school lunch program.

The beef checkoff’s nutrition and health research is not only driving more demand for beef – it’s also giving parents and health professionals the resources they need to help infants, toddlers and adolescents build healthy, strong minds and bodies. Furthermore, these young people are key to beef’s future success. They’re the next generation who will be purchasing beef and cooking it for themselves and their families.

This program is yet another example of how your checkoff dollars are connecting more consumers with beef. To learn more about the Human Nutrition Research Program and “Beef in the Early Years,” visit the Beef Research website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Both the beef and dairy industries work hand in hand to contribute to the beef supply, but there is one industry sector uniquely positioned between both – veal.

WHAT IS VEAL?

Primarily raised in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, veal is a meat derived primarily from young Holstein bull calves. Bull calves are typically sold shortly after birth through local auction markets or purchased directly by others who will raise them for beef or veal. There are two primary sources of veal: bob veal and formula-fed veal

Bob veal consists of dairy bull calves sold and marketed shortly after birth, while formula-fed, also known as milk-fed or special-fed, are dairy bull calves that are raised for about six months and harvested at approximately 500 pounds or more. Formula-fed calves also receive grain and are ruminating animals at the time of harvest. In the marketplace today, 68 percent of veal is derived from formula-fed/grain-fed veal calves.

Today, there are approximately 400 veal farms in the U.S., and many are Amish or Mennonite families. Each farm family raises about 400 head per year. Out of all the formula-fed calves marketed each year, 95 percent come from Veal Quality Assurance (VQA)-certified farms. All VQA certifications are verified by a veterinarian.

  • ~ 400 veal farms in the U.S.
  • ~ 400 head per farm each year
  • 95% come from Veal Quality Assurance (VQA) certified farms

Ultimately, veal production supports the dairy industry by adding value to its calves and co-products.

GROWING CONSUMER TRUST

The Beef Checkoff-funded VQA program is designed to ensure dairy beef animals raised and marketed specifically for veal receive a level of care that guarantees optimal health and welfare. In addition to being beneficial for veal producers, VQA helps grow consumer trust in veal production.

Seventy-four percent of consumers agree that food companies should be more transparent about their farming practices – this jumps to nearly 80 percent when asking Millennials alone6. This statistic shows the importance of giving consumers complete clarity on the production practices of veal farming.

The VQA program makes it possible for Beef Checkoff contractors to share credible and ethical stories when marketing veal to consumers.

DISCOVERY OF VEAL

The Beef Checkoff-funded National Veal Program is managed by Checkoff contractor North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and subcontractor New York Beef Council (NYBC). This team produces multiple Checkoff- funded promotional campaigns and develops educational pieces, both intended to increase consumers’ discovery and trust in veal. The consumer-facing brand, Veal – Discover Delicious, capitalizes on veal’s unique taste, value and versatility. Veal is distinctive in the meat space because a three-ounce serving of cooked, trimmed lean veal has just about 170 calories, making it one of the most nutrient-dense protein foods around.

Also, veal provides 29 percent of the recommended daily intake of zinc, 36 percent of niacin and 23 percent of vitamin B-12. In short, it provides a fat and calorie profile similar to chicken but with the nutrient density of beef7.

  • 29% of the recommended daily intake of zinc
  • 36% of the recommended daily intake of niacin
  • 23% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin B-12

To spread the word about veal’s extraordinary nutrition package, Veal – Discover Delicious focuses on reaching new Millennial audiences with exciting promotional efforts. Millennial consumers today continue to have little awareness or knowledge of veal as a meat choice.

All promotional efforts address this knowledge gap with messaging that explains how to find and access veal while building confidence in the protein’s taste, nutrition and safety.

CUTTING-EDGE INITIATIVES

Forty-five percent of consumers report shopping online for groceries more now than before the pandemic8, and online shopping has remained popular into 2022. To reach the online shopping community, Veal – Discover Delicious partners with Chicory, a digital shopper marketing platform that turns recipes into a retail environment by reaching consumers through an online recipe network. While reading through online recipes, consumers can add veal directly to their virtual shopping carts with a quick click on advertisements with retailers like Instacart and Publix. Campaigns with Chicory last year have resulted in more than nine thousand veal orders. Additionally, Fresh Direct is another online retailer that Veal – Discover Delicious works with and has resulted in more than one thousand orders of veal last year. If consumers can’t find veal in their local store, Veal – Discover Delicious hosts online retailers on its own website where consumers can buy veal and have it delivered right to their door.

Another tactic Veal – Discover Delicious utilizes to effectively reach Millennial and younger audiences and first-time veal eaters is leveraging influencers.

These influencers highlight veal’s versatility and flavor in recipes while incorporating information about how veal is raised and the faces behind veal production. Influencers then share this messaging on their blogs and social media platforms. Many influencers also coordinate or participate in veal cooking classes. This is an educational opportunity for all audiences to learn more about veal and how to best prepare it. Many of these events have themes, like the best recipes for Valentine’s Day or a Kentucky Derby party.

The National Veal Program also hosts events like veal farm tours, both in-person and virtually. Beef industry stakeholders and supporters join these tours to learn about veal farming practices, discover more about the protein and get a chance to ask industry experts their questions directly. Farm tours are only one way the National Veal Program is creating veal advocates and growing consumer trust in veal production.

Over the summer, a new video campaign was launched to introduce consumers to modern veal farming. Featured on social media and Google advertisements, this video series engaged with consumers on what veal is, what veal calves eat and how they’re raised. To watch the videos, visit www.veal.org/discover-the-farm.

Although small, veal plays a significant role in the U.S. beef and dairy industries, and the Beef Checkoff actively works to share the progressive message of veal’s protein strength, versatility, transparency and sustainability.

To learn more about the National Veal Program and access educational resources, visit: Veal.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Today, TikTok is a social media giant and a highly relevant social media platform, particularly for Gen Zs and millennials. With more downloads than even Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has more than 800 million monthly users worldwide. Because TikTok features so many key target audiences active in one space, the Beef Checkoff has joined in on the fun, promoting prepared beef and veal in unique and trendy ways.

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) executes Checkoff-funded projects to promote prepared beef products. One goal is to get consumers to think about prepared products, like beef hot dogs, roast beef, corned beef and beef jerky in new and different ways – and TikTok is a platform where consumers embrace creativity. The food side of TikTok is one of the most popular and trending areas on the app. Here, users can find at-home, professional and celebrity chefs. To capitalize on food’s popularity on TikTok, NAMI ran three campaigns with the Food Renegades, the largest alliance of social media chefs in the world with 40 million followers combined.

Checkoff-funded TikTok Campaigns

  • #WienerWednesday: Beginning in July of 2020, #WienerWednesday was all about the beef hot dog. Forty unique recipes and fun facts were shared about hot dogs by different creators. The videos were watched more than 27 million times, generated nearly 3.5 million likes and had 15.8 million hashtag views, making it the most viral beef campaign ever organized on TikTok. Watch the #WienerWednesday recap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfmd8coCfU0&t=1s
  • #BeBeefPrepared: This campaign featured eleven influencers and their recipes on how to “Be Beef-Prepared” for the holidays and for the new year. The campaign reached more than two million TikTok users and engaged 362,600 consumers.
  • Deli Dinner Showdown Tournament: To celebrate National Deli Meat Month in March, The Deli Dinner Showdown was a tournament-structured event with leading TikTok creators sharing their enthusiasm for deli meats. This tournament encouraged creators to think outside of the box with their recipes for a chance to win $100. These creators showed their followers that you can use deli meats for more than just lunch and sandwich options. This campaign concluded in May, and results are still being collected.

The Checkoff-funded brand Veal – Discover Delicious has also been using TikTok to showcase veal’s versatility. Veal – Discover Delicious partnered with popular TikTok food creators to introduce veal to consumers and open their eyes to new recipe concepts.

These TikTok tournaments and highly engaging campaigns have brought out the originality in food creators. Prepared beef products were shown in shakshuka, Reuben casserole and even beef hot dog octopuses. Also, veal was highlighted in different burger and taco recipes.

The Beef Checkoff is excited to be working on new TikTok campaigns for the future and is consistently monitoring new technologies and platforms to continue reaching and engaging new audiences to drive demand for beef.

Frequently Asked Questions

When consumers think about veal, they likely think that fancy, Italian, white-tablecloth restaurants are the only places that serve veal nowadays. The Beef Checkoff is changing that narrative and promoting veal as a nutritious, delicious option for any consumer.

The Checkoff-funded National Veal Program, executed by the New York Beef Council and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) developed a new brand and website to invite consumers to “Discover Delicious” in veal.

Veal – Discover Delicious, integrates the former vealmadeeasy.com and vealfarm.com platforms and was developed with veal stakeholders’ input. The website features upcoming events, blog articles and cooking school information. Veal producers and other industry stakeholders can use the site to see extensive consumer outreach efforts. This website also shows consumers where to buy veal online, in butcher shops or at grocery stores.

Along with this website launch, the brand has several other ongoing campaigns and events. Here’s a program snapshot:

Family Features Campaign Highlights Veal’s Versatility – This social media and digital-focused campaign with Culinary.net uses veal as a popular and trending recipe ingredient for families. One new recipe was a buffalo baked veal cutlet sandwich. To date, this campaign has 725 total placements across the country in print media, online and social media networks, totaling 68,183,494 impressions.

Veal Wins Big on Chicory Promotion – An important goal of veal’s outreach is to touch different and new consumers, making them aware of veal as a protein option and how it can fit into their weekly meal choices. One way this was accomplished was through a campaign with Chicory, a digital shopper marketing platform that turns recipes into a retail environment and reaches consumers through an online recipe network. Consumers had the opportunity to add veal directly to their virtual shopping carts with the click of a button. Beef Checkoff dollars invested in this campaign were doubled by contributions from other brand partners, such as Victoria’s Pasta Sauce. Brand partners were complementary to veal, allowing consumers to see veal in a cooked application. The overall campaign was then supported by the Florida and Wisconsin State Beef Councils. This campaign ran from mid-February to mid-March, and at the second performance report in early March, there were more than one million impressions and 2,531 veal orders were added to baskets.

Consumers Gather for the ‘Love of Veal’ – Nine consumers joined both in-person and virtually from around the nation to take part in a veal cooking experience with Chef Patrick Rae and a wine tasting with Laurie Forster. The class taught consumers how to make two veal recipes with a romantic theme for Valentine’s Day. There was a 45 percent increase in comfort level among the participants in cooking veal following this class. Overall, participants gave the class 4.5 stars. More consumer cooking classes are planned for the rest of the year.

“SO enjoyed your For the Love of Veal virtual cooking class last night! I appreciate you taking the time to ‘de-mystify’ beef industry practices regarding veal, and I followed along with Chef Patrick’s instructions to make veal marsala, green beans and fingerling potatoes.” – Participant feedback.

National Collegiate Veal Cooking Competition – State Beef Councils in Wisconsin, Indiana, New York, Arizona and Florida connected with their culinary institutes and students to extend the opportunity to be a part of the State and National Collegiate Cooking Competition. Students take the time to learn about veal production and then create a recipe of their own design for a consumer audience. One winner from each state will receive a scholarship prize and compete at the national level for additional scholarship money. There has been a 125 percent increase in State Beef Council participation in this program since 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

This March, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, is executing exciting new efforts to celebrate National Deli Meat Month. Determined to “beef up” the month-long celebration, NAMI is turning National Deli Meat Month into an American favorite.

Deli Meats Popularity

Growing National Deli Meat Month is key to expanding consumer demand for prepared beef – and research shows deli meat is extremely valuable to the beef industry.

Nielsen data from 2019 shows that meat items sold beyond the fresh meat department have a value of $23 billion, with $13 billion coming from the deli department. Additionally, The 2019 Power of Meat Report states that in a given month, shoppers were buying meat across the store, including 37 percent in the deli, 39 percent fully cooked and 49 percent frozen.

Ultimately, research has shown that consumers turn to deli meats, especially during unprecedented times. One remarkable data point tracked by 210 Analytics and IRI, a market research and data analysis company, in the first weeks of the global pandemic in March 2020 was that deli meat sales jumped as high as 40 percent over sales during the same week in March 2019.

Power in Numbers

To build upon consumers’ desire for deli meats, NAMI set a strong foundation for National Deli Meat Month in 2020. To do this, NAMI partnered with the National Pork Board (NPB) to create an entirely new campaign to promote and advance National Deli Meat Month. Together, an outreach campaign was directed to retailers, health professionals, dietitians, restaurateurs and consumers, encouraging them to enjoy their favorite deli meats and reminding them they can feel good about these popular cuts’ nutritional benefits.

This effort’s centerpiece was a newly created website –www.nationaldelimeatmonth.org – which provides a multitude of new resources including logos, messages, infographics, fact sheets, nutrition information and the latest news. Combined, these efforts reached consumers more than 600 million times and engaged more than 350,000 key opinion leaders. Partnering with the NPB helped generate momentum around National Deli Meat Month.

New Efforts

Throughout March, this momentum helped increase consumer demand for deli meats. The industry is now well-positioned to effectively grow National Deli Meat Month and adopt a long-term commitment to build upon each year.

Similar to past years, efforts to reach key audiences included press releases, television segments, eblasts, print ads and personal contact with top nutrition communicators. To upgrade things in 2021, NAMI and NPB developed more partnerships, created more activity opportunities and engaged with more retailers, health professionals, dietitians, restauranteurs and consumers than ever before. New assets, including an online toolkit complete with communication and activation ideas for retailers and producers, are available to inspire customer engagement and promotion at both the store and community levels.

A significant outreach effort to members, retailers and appropriate restaurants, like Subway and other sandwich chains, encouraged them to promote National Deli Meat Month – either using the existing materials or creating their own supporting activations. Additionally, NAMI has forged a new partnership with the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) to extend this outreach and engagement to their membership, including more than 1,500 companies ranging from small independents to the world’s largest corporations.

To take advantage of fun, innovative virtual happenings, NAMI and NPB are executing Deli Dinner “Meat” & Greets. Building off of NAMI’s first Hot Dog Zoom Happy Hour success in 2020, Deli Dinner “Meat” & Greets will feature nutrition communicators and big brands as a way to encourage a break from the long-held image of deli meat as only lunch and sandwich options.

Also new this year is a National Deli Meat Month TikTok promotion. NAMI has seen great success through TikTok in the past year, and it plans to grow prepared beef’s presence on the platform. In partnership with The Food Renegades, a division of The Digital Renegades digital marketing agency and a chef alliance on TikTok, NAMI and NPB will be launching an exciting effort for National Deli Month that includes leading influencers sharing their enthusiasm for deli meats.

Overall, as National Deli Meat Month moves into its second year of promotion, NAMI is confident these efforts are only just the beginning, and consumers’ love of deli meat will continue to grow.