Defined as the weeks from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the annual summer grilling season is upon us. With consumers increasing their social activity amid improving comfort levels, backyard barbecues and parties will likely increase in prevalence. In fact, consumers responding to a recent checkoff-funded survey reported having plans to grill 9.23 times per month on average in 2021, up one entire occasion from last year’s levels1. Additionally, most people plan to grill more specifically on the summer holidays than they did last year.
What does this mean for retail meat sales? Historically, retail protein demand ramps up from the first four months of the year to May as consumers begin preparing for warmer months and summer holidays. This elevated demand holds steady before dropping in the holiday-free month of August and increasing again in September for Labor Day. The fresh meat department experiences most of that increased demand with higher purchases of beef products, especially steaks and ground beef. Steaks and ground beef are a staple for grills and smokers and make up two of the top five most popular items found on summer holiday menus.2
Data from 2018 and 2019* shows that volumes sold in the retail fresh meat department are on average 2.4% higher on a weekly basis during the summer than weekly sales for the remainder of the year3. The 15-week summer grilling season accounts for, on average, 31% of annual beef demand.3
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Beef Checkoff
