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Beef Information Centre
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 Submitted by:
John Newman, BIC Chairman
John Gillespie, BIC Committee Member
The support garnered from government and industry partners over the past
year has enabled the Beef Information Centre (BIC) to carry out successful
beef marketing programs across Canada and the U.S. Canadians demonstrated
unprecedented support for, and confidence in, the Canadian beef industry,
and consumer and stakeholder support to BIC's programs was exceptional -
not only was consumer confidence maintained, but beef purchases throughout
the supply chain increased by 5% in 2003 compared to 2002.
Foodservice
BIC worked with foodservice companies, conducting research and development
sessions, leading to displacement of imported beef products and increased
sales of new cuts. Restaurants such as Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar and
Grill, Montana's Steakhouse, Burger King, A&W, McDonald's, Earls,
Harvey's, Panago Pizza, Quiznos Sub and many independent operations,
looked to BIC for promotional materials and resources to carry out their
successful beef promotions. For example, Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar &
Grill, a national chain with 75 restaurants in Ontario and 130 across
Canada, switched to 100% Canadian beef in April. This promotion resulted
in an additional 3 million pounds of beef sales.
BIC also partnered with Taco Bell promoting a steak quesadilla, using
grilled Canadian sirloin steak. The promotion was featured at 100 Taco
Bell restaurants, 65 in Ontario, between November and January. Over the
past year, BIC's promotional efforts realized not only new beef items, but
also restaurants switching from imported to 100% Canadian beef.
Distributor Education Program
A Distributor Education Program, designed to increase the foodservice
distributor reps' knowledge about Canadian beef, and ultimately build
their beef business was completed. Thirty eight companies across Canada
(18 in Ontario, including Gordon Food Service, Sysco Food Services,
Flanagan Foodservice, JL International and Summit Foods) have successfully
completed the program. The foodservice industry has shown a strong
commitment to the beef industry and this program, with 85% of Canadian
foodservice representatives who sell beef either enrolled or having
completed the program.
Retailers
BIC continues to make presentations with retailers promoting BIC's new cut
concepts and further opportunities from underutilized cuts. The financial
benefits of the beef category and the favorable contribution margins of
beef vs. other proteins were highlighted in meetings with with
representatives from Sobey's, Loblaws, A&P, Longo's, Zehr's, Valu Mart,
YIG, IGA, Foodland. The consumer was reached directly through BIC consumer
booklets, including Marvelous Marinades, Beautiful Burgers, Ground
beef..Canada's Favourite Meat, A Matter of Fat III, Food Safety at home -
You're in Control, Supper Shortcuts, New for the Grill and Perfect Roast
Beef. These booklets provide information on buying and cooking various
cuts of beef, promote hips, chucks and ground beef, and highlight the
nutritional aspects of beef.
Make it Canadian
A national campaign was launched by BIC, partnering with grocery retailers
and foodservice establishments to encourage customers to 'Make it Canadian
beef for all the right reasons.' The campaign highlighted beef's great
taste, versatility and good nutrition and included newspaper ads in major
city papers across Canada. BIC vice-chairman, John Newman, personalized
the ad printed in 5 Ontario papers, including the Toronto Star and Toronto
Sun. More than 1,945 Ontario stores received the campaign kit, including a
consumer booklet - Simple Suppers, eye-catching banners and signage.
The "Make it Canadian Beef" campaign was enhanced this fall by offering
producer images for inclusion in retail flyers. Beef producers Stan Eby,
Ontario and Hugh Lynch-Staunton, Alberta, were photographed, providing a
closer connection back to consumers. John Newman, BIC chairman, also
supported a Pfizer sponsored radio campaign as spokesperson for the radio
ad, airing on13 AgRadio Network stations. His message thanked consumers
for their support, encouraged their continued support, and ensured
Canadians that we produce a very safe and high quality product.
To further leverage the message to Canadians to "Make it Canadian Beef",
significant cooperation has been achieved by partnering with major food
manufacturers like Kraft and Liptons on national in store promotions. In
the fall, General Mills looked to BIC for expertise in developing a
"Dinner Made Easy" program. The program is designed to make Canadians'
preparation of weeknight family dinners even easier, with a focus on
ground beef.
The program includes a point of sale kit for retailers with a video, large
eye catching in-store posters, shelf danglers, the booklet "Dinner Made
Easy", and on-pack ground beef redemption sticker coupons. Promotional
kits were distributed to over 750 stores across Ontario. These promotions
resulted in increased retail flyer activity for ground beef, and a focus
on easy to prepare meal plans for ground beef.
BIC kept its stakeholders informed on current market conditions, including
the beef supply situation, food safety, and technical and merchandising
information through newsletters, releases, email and meetings.
BIC also promoted beef directly to consumers through BIC's toll free call
in line, order center and website, and newspaper and magazine articles. To
assist with message development, surveillance program recommendations and
technical updates, BIC commissioned research and consumer studies.
Scientific support
BIC continues to review and share scientific information on a wide range
of issues including irradiation, Johnes/Crohns disease, E.coli, BSE, and
nutrition. Over 100,000 BIC nutrition resources were distributed in 2003
to Ontario physicians through Physicians Hotline, a resource service for
doctors. BIC maintains an ongoing dialogue with Health Canada and industry
stakeholders in relation to these policy issues, in support of the beef
producers.
Beyond domestic marketing programs, BIC promoted the "Canadian beef
advantage" to U.S. retail and foodservice trading partners, who market,
sell and merchandise Canadian beef in the U.S. BIC conducted 28 seminars
and training sessions across the U.S., focusing on Canadian cattle
industry overview, quality, grading, food safety and partner program
opportunities.
Commercial Beef Utilization Strategy
In response to the surplus of commercial beef (primarily cow and bull
meat) and the need for developing markets for these products in Canada,
BIC, with input from government and industry, developed a Commercial Beef
Utilization Strategy. The goals of the strategy include: increase market
share of Canadian commercial beef products (versus imports); increase the
size of the domestic commercial beef market; and add value to commercial
beef products through new product innovation.
Funding for this program is provided by The Canadian Adaptation and Rural
Development fund (CARD), National Beef Industry Development Fund (NBIDF)
and Alberta Beef Producers (ABP).
Securing adequate funding for domestic and U.S. programs has been a great
challenge for BIC. Thanks to the support of the Federal and Provincial
governments and industry, adequate revenues were obtained to allow BIC to
carry out its marketing programs over the past year. As challenges remain
in sustaining and improving BIC's domestic accomplishments and
reestablishing U.S. markets, BIC will need the continued support of all
stakeholders to achieve success.
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