Meat & Poultry

Overview

Meat & poultry continues to be a high-performing

vertical on BlueCart, without any seasonality.

Meat vendors are attracted to BlueCart because it

enables them to reduce waste and maximize both

sell-in and sell-through without having to worry

about the perishability of their products.

Our 2018 meat and poultry data led us to some

interesting conclusions. Among these Jndings are

the eKect of rising labor costs on orders, the

language used to market certain cuts of meat, and

the increasing impact of popular ethnic cuisines.

Without further ado, here is our Meat & Poultry

Hospitality Report for 2018.

The Top Three Trending Meat Items of 2018

The top three items on this list should come as no

surprise. They are:

1. Chicken Breast

2. Bacon

3. Chicken Cutlet

Chicken usurped both pork and beef as the most consumed meat in the United States in 2010,

partly due to Americans becoming more health

conscious and choosing leaner meat options. In

the United States, chicken has been consistently

outperforming all other meats and takes up four

spots on our top fourteen most-sold meat and

poultry items. Coming in at #2 is bacon. According to the United

States Agricultural Department, national pork sales are expected to equal (and occasionally

exceed) those of beef.

The rising popularity of pork is partly due to the

growing influence of Korean and Vietnamese

cuisine, and dishes like Banh Mi and Char Siu.

To accommodate this demand for pork, a number

of brand new, high tech pork farms have opened

Chicken stands Jrm as the most-consumed meat, appearing several times in our top products. From there, naming conventions, desire for healthier meats and need for reduction in labor costs inform our top sellers in Meat & Poultry for 2018.

The Meat & Poultry Report • 2018

across the country. One such $240 million facility

is due to open in Iowa to meet the demand for

everything from pork belly to pig ears. In fact, pig ear salad is a featured menu item at one of New

York City’s popular restaurants, BloomJeld’s!

Maybe we will see pig ears on our 2019 Meat and

Poultry report.

Naming Conventions Part I: The Labor Costs of Chicken Preparation

Were you curious about the appearance of both

chicken cutlet and chicken breast in the top three?

This is due to vendors appealing to cost conscious

restaurants.

By purchasing chicken breasts for dishes that

require them, and opting for chicken breast in the

form of chicken cutlet (for dishes like chicken

Jngers or chicken sandwiches), restaurants can

save both prep time and labor costs.

Are lamb burgers spiking in popularity?

One trend we noticed this year was the increasing

popularity of ground lamb, especially in relation to

ground beef.

Ground beef and ground lamb came in at 9th and

10th most popular items, respectively.

The lamb burger is going head to head with the

classic American barbecue mainstay, the

hamburger.

Owed to younger diner, lamb is now on 20% of all US restaurant menus. Large food chains like Arby’s

and Yard House are responding by adding popular

lamb items to their menu.

Naming Conventions Part II: Chuck Flap Meat Versus Bavette  

Our eighth most-sold meat item, chuck flap meat

rarely goes by its unflattering name. Chuck flap

meat is more commonly known as edge roast or

bavette (the French name for the cut made

popular by Niman Ranch). This richly flavored, Jne

textured cut comes from the shoulder area and is

best when slow-cooked whole.

Chuck flap meat, or bavette, is commonly used by

Asian, Latin American and French chefs, who are

drawn to its rich flavor and lower price tag.

While chuck flap meat is undergoing a bit of a PR

crisis, its popularity and versatility clearly outweigh

its unfortunate name.

BlueCart Meat Data Featured in Bloomberg

Our operations team works diligently to compile

and organize our hospitality data. This includes

The Meat & Poultry Report • 2018

tagging thousands of products in every

conceivable food industry.

At BlueCart, we believe that this unique data gives

us live insights into the buying habits across many

verticals - from coKee to produce, we have ample

amounts of raw data on buying behaviors all over

the world.

When we were approached by Bloomberg to help

support their report on fancy pork farmers, we

were happy to put our data to good use.

Bloomberg was able to use BlueCart’s data to

support their point that food-service buyers were

being directly aKected by premium pork pricing.

In Conclusion

Our BlueCart Data Hospitality Reports, released bi-

monthly, oKer exciting, on-the-pulse insights into

the ordering habits of the hospitality industry. Stay

tuned for our next release, The 2018 Produce

Hospitality Report, which comes out in November

2018.

Writing a piece that needs data support? Contact us pr@bluecart.com

The Meat & Poultry Report • 2018