Meat sales are surging despite high prices

Newton’s Third Law of Motion, also known as the Law of Action and Reaction, states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the retail fresh meat sector, that is playing out in a most unconventional manner.

Despite price increases across all major meat department proteins, sales are surging. Total fresh meat volume sales rose 3.4% to 16.5 billion for the 52 weeks ending January 26 despite a 3.6% average price increase to $4.45 a pound, reports Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Volume sales grew 5.1% for beef with a 5% average price increase to $6.72 a pound; 3% for chicken with prices up 1.1% to $3.08; and 1.2% for pork, with prices rising 2.6% to $3.19, Circana reported.

Greater shopper interest in dining at home because of high restaurant prices and an ongoing desire for family-oriented meals which took shape during the pandemic is spurring more home-based meal preparation, said Rick Stein, vice president of fresh foods for Arlington, Va.-based FMI—The Food Industry Association.

“It is mind-boggling to see the higher sales numbers,” said Chris DuBois, Circana executive vice president, perimeter practice leader. “Meat is becoming a more important stable across American households.”

Also spurring greater sales is the larger amounts of wellness-minded consumers who are seeking to include more protein in their meals, he said, which is resulting from greater media coverage about the benefits of high protein diets. “Talking about protein is almost as popular as talking about step counts,” DuBois said. “Protein is becoming a benchmark for good health.”