To many consumers, getting that daily protein fix is like a riddle wrapped in an enigma—many are clueless about how much protein they actually need.
Convenience store retailers and their food-company partners think they have some solutions: Forget the riddle wrapped in an enigma; how about meat snacks or jerky wrapped in a 3.25-ounce package of 12 grams of lean protein?
According to becomehealthynow.com, the average adult requires 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. A consumer can eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and net 19.6 grams. Wash it down with a 12-ounce can of beer—OK, work with us—and that fetches another 10 grams.
And while they don’t know how much they need, consumers continue to demand types of protein other than traditional center-of-plate lunch and dinner options. Much of this is fueled by the trend toward on-the-run consumption and mini-meals throughout the day. “You have animal protein, eggs, dairy and cereal, which are all household staples,” says Darren Siefer, a food and beverage industry analyst for Port Washington, N.Y.-based The NPD Group. “At a retailer with so many snacking options in the store, you have to wave your hands in the air and say, ‘We’re over here, too.’ The challenge is getting noticed among the surrounding protein sources in large categories and household staples.”
Siefer says consumers often just wing it with protein intake, never sure if they are getting their daily share. “Seventy-one percent of primary grocery shoppers are not up to speed on the daily amounts of protein needed,” says Siefer. “But the interesting thing is that a lot of people actually meet or exceed the daily recommended value—and don’t know it. They look at their food and say, ‘Here’s an 8-ounce steak; this is the protein I need for this meal occasion.’ ”
Hello, meat snacks: Nielsen data indicates household penetration of the product is only 25%, offering a huge opportunity for retailers and suppliers. To that end, Minong, Wis.-based Jack Link’s has created retail programs around healthy snacking, with a protein message at the forefront. Its Smart Snacking display rolled out earlier this year places a finer point on healthy eating but is also designed to communicate protein values, says Kevin Papacek, the company’s director of marketing.
“Smart Snacking tries to keep health top of mind with consumers,” says Papacek. “Protein is always spelled out front and center on our packaging as well.”
The company recently reformulated its turkey jerky line with a package tweak plus a new color scheme so it stands out from other core products. “It has changed some perceptions where more people now perceive our turkey jerky as a lean source of protein,” Papacek says.
CONTINUED: Driving Day-Parts
Driving Day-Parts
Many consumers look for an energy boost in the morning, but protein is often not in the conversation. Suppliers are seeking to turn that around with an emphasis on products such as meat snacks, yogurt and nut- and seed-based snack bars.
“The interesting thing is that most people consume the most protein at dinner time. I am not a dietitian, but most will tell you it’s far healthier to stagger protein consumption throughout the day. It’s better for the metabolism,” says Siefer of NPD. “In that context, I actively listen to what consumers on social media are indicating about jerky and coffee being a great combination in the morning day-part.”
Jack Link’s recently launched a marketing campaign called “Hangry Moments” that centers on “the feeling people get when hunger consumes them and makes them not themselves,” says Papacek. The campaign expresses how Jack Link’s varieties can fit into different day-parts, starting with the morning, when a dose of protein is essential but not always considered by consumers.
Indeed, other meat-snack companies are taking this approach through morning day-part opportunities and beyond. Seattle-based Oberto believes c-store retailers are eager for greater support in creating more prominent better-for-you snacking sections, with a strong protein message.
Retailers appreciate the support. “We do not have anything that screams ‘protein’ in our snack aisles,” says Dave Caldwell, customer fanatics director, takingcare of me, for North Salt Lake, Utah-based Maverik, who oversees candy, snacks, tobacco, grocery and general merchandise for the chain of 264 stores.
“There’s no store data that can inform us that protein is a motivator for buying a jerky variety any more than it is about being an on-the-go snack with great taste and bold flavor. Or a product that caters to people seeking an exotic taste,” says Caldwell, whose meat-snack jerky varieties grow 8% a year, well above the industry category average.
In most Maverik stores, jerky products—including the chain’s own private-label brand—are positioned in four merchandising hot spots. “We get customers coming and going in all directions,” he says.
Mike Ginal, director of marketing for Oberto, says the brand in May launched the largest advertising campaign in its history. Dubbed “You Get Out What You Put In,” the message imparts that “when you put in the best stuff, you will get the best out of it,” says Ginal. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and U.S. soccer star Clint Dempsey are part of the campaign.
This effort follows up on 2013 updates to the brand’s Oh Boy! Oberto All Natural Jerky line. It represented the company’s largest brand overhaul ever, and it features a new mantra: “Eat Excellent. Be Excellent.”
Oberto also offers a retail-centric program called “America’s Protein” that stresses its American-made values. “We call out the fact that our products are formulated with lean natural protein containing no artificial ingredients,” says Ginal.
For years, Maverik has featured a prolific meat snack and jerky marketing program for customers, and Caldwell doesn’t see it slowing down: “Jerky is huge for us. It’s a perfect grab-and-go snack that caters to the prototypical Maverik customer who lives a very active lifestyle.”
At the transaction counter, the chain positions Maverik-brand jerky—the top-selling in-store brand—with other jerky brands, as well as Maverik Bonfire chips. Depending on the store size, each location assembles at least 2- or 3-foot racks by each check stand, says Caldwell.
Stores also have a bulk jerky and single-serve endcap display adjacent to the checkout, and a back-of-store jerky section meant to trigger cross-promotions of beer and soft drinks. In addition to endcap displays, larger stores feature in-line jerky sections, Caldwell says.
Pushing its own propriety brand, which usually has a more attractive price point, Maverik recently introduced a hot-and-spicy variety to the line. The new item was done with consumer focus groups so Maverik could “get exactly what we wanted in flavor and taste quality,” Caldwell says.
CONTINUED: Time for Protein
Time for Protein
“There is always something in the food industry that pushes the envelope on a certain health value, be it low-carb, whole grains, gluten-free, low-fat and more,” says Siefer of The NPD Group.
So it’s time to shine the light on protein—portable snack protein, particularly.
“I think that protein is part of the mentality to eat something that performs a function, and you don’t have to think about it. It’s become part of the vernacular of nutrition management,” he says.
“Protein is something consumers are not that knowledgeable about, so more manufacturers are calling out protein grams on their packaging,” says Kristen Hamby, snacks category manager for Temple, Texas-based McLane Co. Inc. “Consumers shop by day-part, so we encourage them to choose a protein snack in place of a meal. Stats show consumers eat healthy at the start of the day, so retailers should merchandise according to that and pinpoint what snacks they are looking for tied to [that] day-part.”
Siefer believes c-store retailers should capitalize on consumers who align best with what they have to offer.
“Stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are where people go for the gold standard of protein,” he says. “I think you have one ‘in between’ group where protein is important but not a big deal. These folks are likely to be found in dollar, drug and c-stores. So c-store should go after that in-between group that’s a bit indifferent.”
CONTINUED: How One Retailer is Shaking the Tree
Shaking the Tree
Mark Gil truly wants to sell more meat-snack varieties, but he’s shackled by a small footprint. Gil, a Glen Ellyn, Ill.-based BP-branded retailer, runs a 400-square-foot store. In that space is a modest 2-foot-wide-by-5-foot-high endcap display of single-size and bulk meat-snack varieties, located near his cold vault.
As the foot traffic at the cooler doors becomes busy, “customers turn too quickly, and the meat snacks get lost in the shuffle,” says Gil.
For Gil, every square inch is sacred, and the ability to provide customers with exactly what they want quickly and efficiently—balancing purchase intent with impulse—is crucial.
Enter the consumer decision tree.
Consumer decision-tree tools fill the insight gap that scan data and store surveys alone can’t divine. A robust decision tree deconstructs and pinpoints a consumer’s decision-making process.
“Our consumer decision tree is the backbone of many of our merchandising recommendations,” says Rob Chalifoux, director of business intelligence for Jack Link’s, Minong, Wis.
Rooted in data and analysis, a decision tree developed by Jack Link’s was built using Nielsen data and supplemented by research from a third-party survey that examines the meat-snack consumer to determine important decision-making attributes.
Jack Link’s decision tree establishes a hierarchy of decisions, with usage-oriented decisions at the top of the pyramid, followed by product type (jerky, sticks or nuggets), brand, meat type (beef, turkey or pork) and flavor preference.
When the company compared jerky consumers with those who purchase sticks or nuggets, there were “clear differences, and results show there are limited cross-purchases between those segments,” says Chalifoux. One example: “Traditional jerky overindexes with higher-income households, while the opposite is true for traditional sticks.”
One interesting branch of the tree deals with alternative protein types and how packaging should feature graphics that differentiate from each type. Turkey jerky, for instance, should feature packaging that stands out from beef jerky in the set, says Chalifoux.
The most popular flavors should be positioned at the top of a set, with others positioned next to it or below. “These flavors are usually adventurous and bring in new category users that result in add-on purchases for current consumers,” Chalifoux says.
With this basis for the meat-snack purchasing process, retailers such as Gil can begin to better organize their product mix—and capture that customer before he or she turns away from the sale.
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