Promotion Results Lead to New U.S. Beef Products at Costco Outlets in Taiwan
Riding a wave of supermarket and hypermarket expansion, U.S. beef’s presence is growing in Taiwan’s retail sector. USMEF estimates that 40% of U.S. beef is now sold in Taiwan’s retail sector, up from 20% in 2014.
“The foodservice sector has traditionally been the major buyer of U.S. beef but it has become very price-competitive,” says USMEF Senior Marketing Manager Alex Sun. “Supermarkets and hypermarkets are expanding and this creates more opportunities to feature high-quality U.S. beef products at retail.”
USMEF monitors retail trends in Taiwan through continuous market surveys, which helps identify opportunities for new products and specific sales promotions.
USMEF partnered with Costco on a promotional test for two new products – beef patties and pastrami rolls. For the promotion, USMEF developed a special display case and designed promotional packaging for the two items. The U.S. beef promotion also featured four popular U.S. steak cuts, along with the burger patties and pastrami roll. In addition to providing samples of pan-fried pastrami roll to attract consumers to the display case, USMEF also provided product assistance, recipes and cooking tips.
While sales of all the featured U.S. beef products increased during the promotional period, sales for the beef patties and pastrami rolls far exceeded expectations. As a result, 14 of Costco’s outlets in Taiwan now carry U.S. beef patties and pastrami rolls as regular items.
Funding support was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program and North Dakota Corn Council.