Consumers are demanding more transparency from meat producers, but only 36% of shoppers say sustainability claims would impact their purchases, according to the “Power of Meat 2025″ report published on March 24 by FMI - The Food Industry Association.
In the report, FMI surveyed 1,625 grocery shoppers between age 18 and 75, who described themselves as meat eaters or flexitarians, about their attitudes toward meat and various claims and attributes. The report was produced in partnership with FMI, Circana, the Meat Institute and 210 Analytics with findings presented at the Annual Meat Conference.
“We are seeing more millennial, urban households with kids migrating to claims-based meat and poultry options. This indicates more shoppers are seeking transparency regarding where their food is coming from and how it was raised,” Rick Stein, VP of fresh foods for FMI said.
“Most importantly, these shoppers have redefined what value means for them and are willing to purchase meat products that meet the attributes they care about regardless of price. Grocers can lean into this trend by offering more storytelling about meat and poultry offerings and enhancing claim-based meat assortment,” he added.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers (65%) stated they like to know where their food came from, a 1% jump from 2024 numbers, according to FMI. Additionally, 56% of shoppers said they wanted to do their part to promote the environment and sustainable food choices, 1% higher than last year but a 4% drop from its peak in 2021.
Most consumers (65%) believe ranchers and farmers care about the land and animals. Almost half (49%) of consumers said that animals are raised humanely, and 44% of shoppers said that grocery stores are committed to selling humanely raised meat and poultry.
However, consumers felt farmers and ranchers could do more to address their environmental impact. Two-thirds (66%) said more can be done to reduce the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Additionally, 47% said low-neutral carbon labels on meat and poultry packages are meaningful.
Retailers and food producers can tap into consumer demands for sustainability and transparency by providing “consistent, clear and constant communications,” the report suggested. Additionally, highlighting organic and grass-fed claims can “attract new consumers to the category while optimizing the purchases among current core consumers,' the report added.
Despite demanding more out of meat producers, price and taste remain the key purchase drivers when buying meat or poultry.
Only 37% of consumers said environment factors like animal welfare and packaging and food waste somewhat or greatly influence their purchase decision.
More than half (53%) of consumers cited price per pound, and 41% listed total package price as their most important purchase drivers. Less than a quarter of consumers (20%) said production claims like organic and grass-fed are a main purchase driver – despite those two attributes outpacing conventional, the report stated.
Meat snack brands Chomps, Archer, Think Jerky and others shared their latest innovations, formats and branding at Natural Products Expo West, designed to address consumers' growing demand for convenient protein solutions. Chomps introduced a new smoky beef stick, Archer revealed new brighter branding and a shortened name, and plant-based meat producer Before the Butchers shared its pepperoni stick product made from sunflower protein.
Organic meat sales hit $3.1 billion in 2024, growing 14.3% in dollars and 15.9% in pounds, according to Circana MULO data for the year ending Dec. 29, versus a year ago. Additionally, grass-fed meat jumped 29.8% in dollars and 34.9% in pounds to hit $1.8 billion.
Overall, fresh meat sales outpaced processed meat options in dollar and pound sales. Total fresh meat sales reached $72.9 billion, growing 6.7% in dollars and 3.2% in pounds, according to Circana MULO data for the year ending Dec. 29 versus a year ago.
However, processed meat sales - which accounted for $31.6 billion in sales - eked out a 0.4% increase in dollars and were flat in volume sales, according to Circana data for the same period. Processed chicken and dinner sausages each grew 3.5% year-over-year, while packaged lunchmeat and frankfurters both dipped 0.8%.
Last year, Boar’s Head issued and then expanded a recall of its lunchmeat products over a listeria outbreak in July, which impacted 7 million pounds of its product. Then in October, meat producer BrucePac recalled 12 million of its ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, following its own listeria outbreak.
These recalls spurred sharp declines in lunchmeat volume sales in the second half of 2024. Deli-service lunch meat declined by 16.1% in dollars and 12.9% in pounds, while grab-and-go lunch meat declined by 8.2% in dollars and 5.5% in pounds for October driven by these outbreaks, according to Circana MULO data.
