USMEF-Japan Reaches Broad Audience through Costco Promotion

Establishing strategic partnerships with flagship retail and food service partners is a hallmark of USMEF operations around the world, and few of those relationships are more significant than that with global big-box retailer Costco.

With some 600 warehouse stores around the world, including 13 in Japan, Costco sells to consumers directly as well as to many of the small restaurants that help drive sales of U.S. beef and pork around the world.

USMEF continued that relationship earlier this month when it worked with Costco Japan to invite some 70 chefs and restaurant owners from the All Japan Chef Association and Costco’s small-business customers to sample U.S. beef sirloin, tenderloin steak and short ribs as well as U.S. pork back ribs – which USMEF-Japan introduced through Costco. The store also distributed flyers on both U.S. pork and beef.

“Costco Japan very aggressively promotes U.S. pork and beef in Japan,” said Takemichi Yamashoji, senior marketing director, USMEF-Japan.

The same group of chefs will be at the heart of a “Taste of America” restaurant promotion conducted the first two weeks of October with USMEF and the U.S. Embassy’s Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) along with a variety of companies representing the breadth of the U.S. food industry, from Arizona Tea and Dole to Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly and U.S. Rice – as well as Costco – to promote U.S. agricultural products.

The goal of the “Taste of America” project – now in its second year – is to give Japanese restaurateurs an opportunity to express their zeal for American food and to increase the presence of U.S. products in the Japanese restaurant business.

“The “Taste of America” was a great opportunity to emphasize the high quality of U.S. pork and beef to Japanese chefs while building business between Costco and the chefs,” said Yamashoji.

“Costco is among the leaders globally in the sale of U.S. pork and beef, and it is very influential because other retailers follow its lead,” said Dan Halstrom, USMEF senior vice president of global marketing and communication. “When Costco enters into promotional partnerships like this, it demonstrates complete confidence in the quality and value of the product.”

Halstrom noted that Costco has a significant presence in four of the top five export markets for both U.S. beef and pork, and that footprint continues to grow. Costco operates 110 warehouse stores across Mexico and Canada, eight in Taiwan and seven in South Korea.

U.S. red meat enjoys a significant presence in Japanese Costco stores. Currently Costco is selling a wide variety of U.S. products including pork back ribs, tenderloins, loin caps and CT butt as well as beef chuck eye roll, rib eye roll, short ribs, rib finger meat and flap meat.

Through the first seven months of 2012, Japan is the No. 1 value market for U.S. pork exports and No. 2 for beef, purchasing 267,753 metric tons (590.3 million pounds) of pork valued at nearly $1.2 billion and 91,132 metric tons (200.9 million pounds) of beef valued at $600.2 million.