DEMAND IS DIFFERENT AMID PANDEMIC, BUT WILL BUILD BACK STRONGER

By: Abbie Burnett

What costs most for a restaurant isn’t the meat, but an empty seat.

Chef Joshua Moore of Volare Italian Ristorante in Louisville, Ky., remembers hearing that at a Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) field day in Texas several years ago.

It resonates even more after rounding a year of a pandemic.

Just as ranchers know the wisdom of proactive investment, Moore knows his established reputation with the brand helps to keep his business going – for now.

But before COVID-19 shutdowns and meat shortages, serving CAB was about competitive advantages and so much more.

“We know we offer the highest quality product available for operators to purchase, but that’s only where the partnership begins,” says Kelly Murray, CAB assistant director of restaurant development. “We are ‘all in’ on their business, aiming to keep them as successful as possible.”

Loyalty breeds loyalty, creating a demand not only for the product, but the company.

WHAT IS FOODSERVICE?

More than just restaurants, foodservice refers also to their supplying distributors. There are two kinds of distributors: broadliner and specialty.

Broadliners sell everything, from meat and fruit to toilet paper and cutlery. It can be a one stop shop. Specialty distributors focus on one aspect, like protein. CAB has licensed one of each type in just about every market in an effort to leave no territory ignored.

The foodservice industry represents 28% of the brand’s total sales, topping 324 million pounds last fiscal year, but down 22% from its rising trend before the pandemic.

Foodservice also leads CAB’s value-added sales (52%), although that was down for the year, too.

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Distributors are vital to the brand because there are too many restaurants for CAB to contact individually. Equipping these sales professionals with focused training helps them vet and sell to restaurants before bringing them to the brand as potential licensees

Realizing that work goes on all the time, CAB helps distributors sell product across the board. Restaurants don’t have to be licensed to sell CAB, only to advertise that they’re selling it.

“If they’ve got a doorknob, they’re our customer,” says Josh Ennis, Certified Angus Beef specialist at Buckhead Meats Atlanta, a licensed CAB specialty distributor.

Helping his staff and those at other distributors distinguish between mere buyers and CAB loyalists takes training.

EQUIPPING THE FIELD

Distributors acting as front lines for the brand need the right tools, especially with beef, says Sara Scott, CAB vice president of foodservice.

“Beef is an extremely intimidating item to sell,” she says. “There’s such a variety within the cuts and quality grades. When you can show them ‘Hey, if I can master beef, I can probably add a lot more to this order,’ they get pretty excited.”

Broadline distributors may offer upwards of 15,000 line items. Providing confidence in selling a complex and expensive item can set them apart in any market.

That’s where CAB steps in, providing a wealth of information and training, always growing and evolving with the times.

There are intensive, three-week courses to immerse “students” in all things beef, from ranching to cutting to sales. Live meat-science trainings and conferences are built around innovation in sales strategies, along with regular e-communications and individual touch points.

“We do a really good job of training our people to understand the brand, understand the specs and why they truly do make a big difference, and how it’s a superior product to the competitors,” Ennis says. “If everybody wants to be ‘Certified Angus Beef’ with mirror programs, well then you might as well buy the best because that’s the original.”

These resources have become even more important as the pandemic limited trips to the CAB Culinary Center in Wooster, Ohio, the usual home for hands-on training.

“Nothing attracts an audience faster than getting a raw piece of meat on the table and cutting it. And that’s even true in the video world,” Scott says.

Menus have become more fluid everywhere so knowing what to buy and when is critical.

“Before you can ever train or sell or promote an item, you’ve got to have it in stock and you’ve got to sell that guy on why it should be in stock,” she says.