Meat and butchery is an area where things change on a frequent basis – in our last issue, Jon of Jon Thorner’s told us about the cuts that have fallen out of favour, and those that are now more fashionable. Here, he tells us of the other key trends that they’ve seen over the last five years.
What are the biggest trends you’ve seen in meat and butchery over the last 5 years?
“The increase in convenience foods has been significant. With less and less free time, we are buying foods which are ‘straight-to-oven’ but offer full flavour, so cuts such as chicken breast parcels, marinated steaks and stuffed pork loins.
We have found customers swapping their traditional Sunday roast joint for slow cooking joints. Pulled pork and brisket is a huge trend right now. People are slow cooking now instead of roasting, and are also being inventive and wanting meat that’s just as tasty as previously popular cuts, but for less.”
Are you seeing any difference in the way in which people choose and buy their meat?
“Customers are a lot more price conscious – they want to maximise on their purchases or make sure they are getting value for money. There’s a divide between the convenience shopper who just wants to be in and out and they purchase ready-to-cook items, and the shrewd shopper who wants to get as much as they can for their money, so will buy cuts of meat which will go into multiple meals throughout the week and buying in bulk from their butcher for great prices to stock up the freezer.
There have been so many food scandals in recent years that customers are also enquiring more about sourcing, animal welfare and accreditations such as Red Tractor and free-range.”
What are the trends you’re predicting for 2017?
“With the recent political climate, anything is possible! But I feel provenance and using local, British meat will become an even more important factor in people’s buying choices. Allergens and dietary requirements will continue to be significant, so customers will want more transparency and clear labelling in the food they buy.
I believe customers will be more experimental in terms of flavour combinations and types of meat.”