Suggested Lead: Meredith Stevens, manager of digital media for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program, highlights for us a new tool that launched in June, the Interactive Meat Case, found on the checkoff-funded website, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner dot com. Because today’s meat case is brimming with exciting new choices and traditional favorites, the Interactive Meat Case was designed to help shoppers learn more about the variety of nutritious and satisfying beef cuts available, plus find cut descriptions, recipes, cooking tips and more.
Stevens 1: “We’re looking at folks that are kind of ‘foodies’ – they have their love of food; their opinions are trusted by others, they could have some culinary education, when it comes to looking at recipes and things, they love to have snapshots when cooking, and they very much see those recipes broken down. They seek the creative inspiration for a meal, so they’re always looking for new recipes to try to challenge themselves, and they’re focused on getting more value from grocery shopping. And again, at the center of all that, is that they’re online.” (33 seconds)
Stevens explains where the idea came from in developing this tool and what the checkoff hopes to accomplish by launching the Interactive Meat Case.
Stevens 2: “We’ve heard consumers and even folks in the industry say ‘It’s really a sea of red out there.’ And so we wanted to develop a tool that would kind of help to answer that question – help them navigate the meat case, and have a resource for them that’s accessible. We also wanted to make sure that they can learn about cuts that they’ve seen, cuts that they’re familiar with that they maybe don’t have the full spectrum of knowledge of how to get the best quality and value from that cut, and maybe also those cuts that they’ve never cooked with before.” (31 seconds)
The checkoff, in conjunction with the market research team, conducted beta testing with foodies, moms, dads, bloggers, media representatives and others to get their feedback before launching the Interactive Meat Case. Stevens says the tool was ultimately designed to assist consumers in having great beef-eating experiences each and every time they sit down to a meal.
Stevens 3: “We wanted to help consumers with their cooking and meal-planning process. We know that consumers, more and more, are looking for the best value for their dollar; they’re looking for meals for their family and friends; and they want something that has easy recipes to follow that doesn’t take a lot of time. So we wanted to make sure that this was a tool that they could see complementing their existing cooking and meal-planning process.” (26 seconds)
Visit the Interactive Meat Case today by going to www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. You’ll find it in the “shopping for beef” drop-down menu. And for information on other efforts being funded with your beef checkoff investment, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.