How do the demographics of your Ribeye customer differ from your Sirloin customer?  Are the customers who purchase Strip Steaks and Tenderloin the same? By knowing the typical demographics of these steak purchasers and reviewing it alongside your sales data you can better understand and then target these profitable customers.

While the research analysis tells us beef is popular with all consumer groups, certain groups seem to prefer certain steaks.

Typical Steak Consumer Demographics by Cut

Steak

House-hold

Size

Presence of Children

Age of Female Head of Household

Income

Ethnicity

Female Head of Household Education Level

Head of Household Occupation Category

Ribeye

3-4

45-64

Asian or Hispanic

Sirloin

3-4

Yes, Teens (13-17)

45-64

Hispanic

Some High School

Blue Collar

Strip

3-4

Yes, Tweens (6-12)

35-64

High School Grad

Tenderloin

2-4

No

45-64

$70,000+

Some High School, High School Grad or College Grad

Professional/Managerial

Source:  ACNielsen HomeScan Fresh Foods Consumer Panel, 2005.

Putting this information to use:

Look at individual store demographics and your advertising zones.  You can target your best customers by keeping the meat case filled with the steaks they want to buy. 

·         For stores that cater to White and/or Asian customers, be sure that Ribeye Steak is plentiful in various thicknesses.

·         For stores that cater to White and/or Hispanics, efforts should be made to keep the Sirloin Steak displays filled.

·         For your stores with an average customer income over $50K, be sure the Strip Steaks and Tenderloins are slotted and plentiful.  A large display of Tenderloins, however, is not needed in stores with income levels of the $30-50K. 

·         Tenderloin customers do not typically have children at home so packages should be only one or two steaks.

·         When Mom is shopping with the teenagers, chances are she is looking for Sirloin – it will fill up the hungry teens without draining her checking account.  Larger steak cuts as well as family packs with smaller portioned Sirloin Steaks will be high on her list.

Contact us for more information on this study or other Beef Checkoff research.