U.S. Pork, Beef Lunch Favorites Highlighted at Mexico City TGI Friday’s
Published: Aug 29, 2012
T.G.I. Friday’s is a familiar name to most Americans and its nine locations in the Mexico City metropolitan area are very successful. To capitalize on their growing popularity and to demonstrate the quality and versatility that U.S. pork and beef add to the T.G.I. Friday’s menu, USMEF is supporting a special promotion of a U.S. pulled pork quesadilla and a U.S. beef Philly cheesesteak sandwich.
The Pork Checkoff and Beef Checkoff Programs are funding the promotion, which runs through Sept. 20. In addition to being featured in restaurant menu inserts, these two items are also showcased on Mexico City buses.
“Bus advertisements are an excellent visual tool for this type of restaurant promotion,” said Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic. “It’s a very eye-catching way of attracting urban professionals to our products and increasing lunch traffic for the restaurants.”
The Pork Checkoff and Beef Checkoff Programs are funding the promotion, which runs through Sept. 20. In addition to being featured in restaurant menu inserts, these two items are also showcased on Mexico City buses.
“Bus advertisements are an excellent visual tool for this type of restaurant promotion,” said Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic. “It’s a very eye-catching way of attracting urban professionals to our products and increasing lunch traffic for the restaurants.”
Russell explained that while the U.S. red meat industry currently faces a challenging economic environment in Mexico, consumer demand for U.S. products is still strong.
“Consumers in Mexico see the U.S. Pork and the Beef Checkoff Program logos as marks of excellent quality, and that’s important to restaurant customers here,” he said. “We are in a period of very weak buying power for the peso, but diners will still respond to high-quality, affordable pork and beef entrées.”
Through the first half of 2012, Mexico is the leading volume market and second-largest value market for U.S. pork and pork variety meat, with exports topping last year’s pace by 13 percent in volume (294,097 metric tons or 648.4 million pounds) and 11 percent in value ($537.5 million). Mexico ranks first in volume (103,751 metric tons or 228.7 million pounds) and third in value ($446 million) for U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports, though the 2012 totals are below last year by 18 percent and 6 percent, respectively. .
“Consumers in Mexico see the U.S. Pork and the Beef Checkoff Program logos as marks of excellent quality, and that’s important to restaurant customers here,” he said. “We are in a period of very weak buying power for the peso, but diners will still respond to high-quality, affordable pork and beef entrées.”
Through the first half of 2012, Mexico is the leading volume market and second-largest value market for U.S. pork and pork variety meat, with exports topping last year’s pace by 13 percent in volume (294,097 metric tons or 648.4 million pounds) and 11 percent in value ($537.5 million). Mexico ranks first in volume (103,751 metric tons or 228.7 million pounds) and third in value ($446 million) for U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports, though the 2012 totals are below last year by 18 percent and 6 percent, respectively. .