Asian Sales Lift the Brand
CAB® is a destination brand at U.S. venues and in 49 other countries.
With the end of 2017 in our sights we’ll soon be reflecting on the year in beef. Undoubtedly, we’ll toast to what has been a pretty decent run with record-large production and very good demand to go with it. Factoring heavily into that success for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand in our 2017 fiscal year (October to September) was a record year in international markets with a 26.4% sales tonnage increase beyond U.S. borders.
While riddled with politics and barriers unrelated to product acceptance, the CAB brand continues to make inroads and add “brand loyalists” across the globe. Geof Bednar, CAB international director, reports CAB brand products are enjoyed at licensed retailers and restaurants in 49 other countries, with double-digit percentage growth last year in every region. Global trade accounted for 15% of total CAB brand sales for the year compared to total U.S. international beef sales at 10% of whole-muscle cuts.
Growth was led by Asia, with Japan up 50%, and Korea up 81%. Emphasis has been on providing licensed partners with a “brand experience,” brought about through educational seminars such as our International Masters of Brand Advantages (MBA) training for foodservice leadership, with attendees from 18 countries. None of this can be done without the 102 licensed international distributors serviced by every major packer and 30 exporter suppliers.
In 2017 the brand attracted 10 new international distributors, eight new retailers in Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To cap all of this off, an exciting and delicious beef bacon product for the Halal market is proving to be popular and has a lot more potential, introduced now into every Middle Eastern country with CAB distribution.
Editor’s Note: Paul Dykstra is a beef cattle specialist with CAB.
Read more of Dykstra’s biweekly comments in the CAB Insider at www.cabpartners.com/news/cabinsider/.