Alison Smith Retail & Foodservice
E-COMMERCE & SHOPPABLE RECIPES As with many things, COVID 19 changed how consumers shop for their groceries. Prior to the outbreak, brick and mortar grocery stores were focused on updating stores while beefing up their online shopping efforts. However, 2020 rolled in with most of the country facing quarantines and awaiting vaccines, which pushed consumers to cook more at home and order their groceries online. In a Beef Behavior and COVID report completed in April 2020, 83% of meals were cooked at home. In a State of Consumer Survey in July 2021, 89% of respondents agreed they would continue to cook meals at home. Additionally, the survey found that over a half of consumers were ordering groceries online, with a third of those being at least monthly. Of course, the Beef Checkoff saw this as an opportunity to meet shoppers where they were – online. Partnering with retailers like Kroger, Sam’s Club, Target, and Wal-Mart, the Checkoff has not only spurred beef culinary creations, but also made sure beef was in the “basket”. Kicking off the grilling season, The Beef Checkoff along with KBC and several other beef councils teamed up with Kroger and Target to encourage shoppers to purchase beef during the summer by showcasing relevant shoppable media (Kroger.com and its app and Target.com and its app) and recipes at the right moments that enabled shoppers to feel confident in their buying decisions and create grilling moments together. The online promotion ran from July 1 through Labor Day and targeted in-market shoppers for beef, competitive proteins and complimentary products. The results
90 • Cow Country • February
were amazing! According to Kroger, for the targeted-on site media, the attributable sales were over $5.7 million and the return on ads spend (ROAS) was $59.78, which is well above their benchmark ROAS. KBC was ecstatic to be able to partner with the Federal Beef Checkoff as it is cost-prohibitive as an individual state beef council. With such success during summer grilling, the Beef Checkoff as well as KBC and other state beef councils partnered with retailer, Sam’s Club, for a holiday beef sales campaign. The national campaign included Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner creative for on-site display on Sam’s Club.com and the Sam’s Club app and ran on a holiday entertaining page. KBC “plus up” the national investment to achieve additional reach in KY. Initial results showed that KY had 595,244 impressions with an .11% CTR. More results to come! Lastly, if you have been on the BIWFD website lately, you may have noticed a little red bar with a shopping cart indicating that you can purchase the ingredients to the recipe. This is a fairly new partnership with Chicory, a shoppable recipe company which links recipes with retailers allowing for a seamless purchase of the recipe’s ingredients. With the increased interest in cooking at home, this has been an additional way the Beef Checkoff can engage with shoppers and encourage beef purchases. Additionally, this allows us to work with multiple retailers on one specific promotion. Although marketing beef has changed in the last two years bringing about new e-commerce opportunities and shoppable recipes, one thing remains the same – Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner!.
