Internet Beef Is Taking Advantage of Not-So-Hot Supermarket Meat
Online stores have seen a major increase in demand for top-of-the-line beef such as wagyu.
Source: Crowd Cow
Plant-based cuisine was one of the biggest food trends of 2018. At the same time, beef sales were massive. Nielsen has reported that beef saw the biggest change in U.S. sales in the past few years, with almost 11 percent more pounds sold in 2018 than in 2015. Beef consumption is expected to continue to rise, to 58.8 pounds per person in 2019, 2.8 percent higher than last year, according to forecasts from the Cattle Site.
While 55 percent of Americans still buy their meat at full-service markets, a growing segment is shifting to the internet to find more specialized products. Online meat purchases have jumped from 4 percent in 2015 to 19 percent in 2018. There are three main reasons: Customers are looking for a product that’s higher-quality, sustainable, and traceable.