Demand for beef is strong, despite pocketbook pressure. According to The Power of Meat 2025, beef has continued to lead the way for fresh meat sales, despite being up 34.3% in cost since 2019. In 2024, beef held $40.1 billion of fresh meat sales, up 13.5% compared to 2022.

The health and wellness movement is putting beef in the spotlight. As demand for more natural, less processed products continues to grow, consumers are seeking out more animal-based protein products. “In the past, health and wellness trends often led to a demand for more plant-based meat alternatives over real beef,” said Brian Fowler, Omaha Steaks vice president and chief product officer. “However, as consumers become more aware of the long lists of ingredients used in meat alternatives, many are returning to real meat products like all-natural beef.”

As health and wellness-driven purchases continue to gain momentum, consumers are increasingly seeking out claims-based meats, and are willing to pay a premium for it.

According to Merck Animal Health 2024, while price is a major influence for retail beef purchases, the second most considered attribute is USDA grade (32%), while the third is brand (23%) and the fourth is production claims (21%). While organic and antibiotic-free claims have grown over the last few years, grass-fed beef is the bread and butter of the claims-based meat category; according to The Power of Meat 2025, had the strongest growth of all claims-based meats with $1.8 billion in 2024 sales and a 29.8% increase year-over-year.

Midan’s Beef Attributes study uncovered that nutrition claims like high protein drive retail beef purchases for 19% of consumers. “The rising use of GLP-1 drugs, coupled with the interest in high protein products, gives the beef industry an opportunity to educate consumers of the nutritional benefits of beef,” said Midan’s Customer Insights Team. According to The Power of Meat 2025, consumers have reported several health priorities that can be leveraged when promoting beef’s nutritional benefits, such as muscle development, weight management/loss, bone health and more.

Chef Jason Triail, The Habit Burger & Grill director of culinary innovation, is seeing rising demand for higher quality and more intentional food choices. “Consumers want to feel good about what they’re eating, which means sourcing and preparation matters,” he said. “Our guests still crave that classic burger experience but are increasingly looking for options that deliver flavor and transparency.”

Transparency is important to many consumers, and it can make or break the purchase. According to The Power of Meat 2025, 37% of consumers report they only buy certain brands that are clear about their production practices. According to Merck Animal Health 2024, “Over two-thirds of consumers believe more transparency is needed in regard to beef products.” This research suggested that production transparency is generally more of a concern to younger shoppers.

Lance Zimmerman, senior beef analyst for Rabobank, emphasized that we are experiencing a record tight beef supply. Despite these constraints, consumer demand for beef remains strong.

“When it comes to beef, we've not necessarily seen a massive shift in or out of channel, in or out of beef industry, we've not even necessarily seen a massive shift in the types of beef that consumers are buying because overall, it's still an item that, relative to income, has continued to maintain its competitive advantage,” Zimmerman said.

Convenience is driving beef category innovation, particularly as consumers balance high prices and busier schedules. Fowler noted that desire for convenience among consumers has easily been one of the biggest considerations for Omaha Steaks product development.

According to Beef Research 2025, grinds currently account for 62% of the beef consumed at home in a week. This highlights how important convenience and versatility is to today’s shopper. “Ground beef is an everyday item,” Zimmerman said. “In fact, 55 to 60% of beef consumption is ground beef, and that demand continues to stay relatively static over time because it's used as an ingredient in so many food items.”

Above convenience, though, one attribute remains the main driver of a beef purchase: taste. Consumers want beef that tastes good, and that is something they will put their dollars toward. “They want consistency. They want flavor, and they want juiciness. All of those things that that come with within the beef industry through the quality grade system,” Zimmerman said. “Those branded programs that focus on high marbling and higher quality grade points deliver on that.”

Demand for premium meats continues to influence retail and foodservice offerings. Omaha Steaks is seeing an increased preference at both retail and foodservice for high quality and premium cuts of beef such as filet mignon, ribeye, strip and sirloin, as well as other options like ground beef and short ribs. “On the product side, consumers are gravitating toward pre-marinated items, smaller portion sizes, and value-added formats like ready-to-cook meals—driven by a desire for convenience and quality at home,” Fowler said.

“The 2025 Power of Meat report found that 27% of consumers are willing to spend a bit more on meat when replacing a restaurant meal, and 87% are interested in recipe cooking tips involving indulgent cuts to prepare premium, restaurant quality meals with more cooking confidence,” said the Midan Customer Insights Team.

In particular, brisket demand has surged. Zimmerman said, “As that surge in grilling demand and barbecue demand really picked up during the pandemic and reached kind of a fever pitch during those first two years of the pandemic, brisket demand has not only grown in that first two-year period, but it stayed very, very strong.”

Bold and globally inspired flavors have been a huge trend in the meat and poultry category, and these flavor profiles continue to drive innovation for beef products, Triail said.

In addition to bold and global flavors, consumers are demanding flavor profiles that bring out and enhance the taste of high-quality meat. “We’ve seen this with the hot honey and pickle-flavored trends,” Fowler said. 

Triail is keeping his eye on two emerging trends for beef products: customization and heat. “Guests want to personalize their beef experience, whether that’s through sauce choices, or add heat from our fresh pepper bar,” Triail said. “There’s also rising interest in beef pairings with premium global ingredients that inspire our LTO pipeline and seasonal builds.”

www.provisoneronline.com   |  JUNE 2025