Barbecue: Precooked Food’s Newest Trend

              by David G. Jackson

It starts with busy families who are not satisfied with the usual TV dinner or other frozen entrees. Mom, Dad and the kids want a good meal for dinner. Grandmother is tired of cooking after all these years, but still wants to put something tempting on the table. Time is of the essence. But never fear...beef is coming to the rescue.

We’re not talking Hamburger Helper here, we’re talking about steaks, roasts and ribs, cooked to your taste, and ready to serve in about ten minutes. Furthermore, these are not products from a deli or fast food store, but are part of the heat-and-serve category, the newest trend in the beef industry. And the fastest growing segment of heat-and-serve is barbecue products.

According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the demand for dining convenience and versatility also is fueled by an increase in dual-income and single parent families, longer work hours, and more women in the workforce. Research shows that about 70 percent of Americans decide what they’ll eat for dinner after 4:30 p.m. that day. Products like Rotiss-A-Roast and microwaveable beef entrees offer easy, timesaving and tasty solutions to mealtime dilemmas.

In fact, the NCBA is sponsoring an advertising campaign to showcase convenient heat and serve products. It brings back the "Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner." advertising tag and celebrity voice-over theme from actor Sam Elliot.

Barbecue Moves To the Mainstream

Lloyd’s Barbeque has long been one the heat-and-serve industry leaders. Founded by Lloyd Segal in 1978, the company’s first product was barbecued ribs. It now produces sliced beef, shredded pork, shredded chicken, pork spareribs and beef back ribs, all prepared and seasoned with real hickory smoke and the company’s own barbecue sauce. The packaged meat is refrigerated and is designed to be heated in less than ten minutes in a microwave. Second choice recommendation is an oven. It can also be warmed on a grill--very carefully, as the instructions state. These products have a three-week shelf life and can be frozen.

A sure indication of these products’ potential is evidenced by the fact that the company was recently acquired by food giant General Mills for an undisclosed price. Dan Malina, vice president of mergers and acquisitions for General Mills, said that "Lloyds adds an exciting new category to General Mills. This is our first meat processing platform and it is growing at 25 per cent per year.

According to Malina, annual sales of Lloyds Barbeque total approximately $90 million, and the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company employs approximately 370 people. General Mills spokesman stated that the company intends to continue production at the St. Paul plant and will operate the business as a stand-alone subsidiary. "General Mills has brand management, product development and marketing skills that will help to keep Lloyd’s as an industry leader," said Malina.

A Regional Company Grows

A major player in the refrigerated food market on the West Coast is The Harris Ranch Beef Company in Selma, California, which grew from a ranch established in the 1930s in the San Joaquin Valley. The company produces its own beef and includes a major farming operation, a cattle feed lot, a horse division and the upscale Harris Ranch Restaurant and Inn.

Marketing Director Brad Caudill explained that the Harris Beef Company just continues to grow. "We were one of the first companies to produce fully cooked beef products on the West Coast, and we market in major grocery chains such as Lucky and Sam’s Club. One of our fastest growing products is beef short ribs." These specially selected ribs are placed in a cooking bag with natural barbecue ingredients and cooked slowly so that the beef juices combine with the seasonings to make a hearty and delicious barbecue sauce. "We look at our prepared beef as value-added because it doesn’t take a lot of additional preparation and complements easily prepared salads and side dishes which are readily available from any grocery or deli," Caudill said. The beef contains no added hormones, chemicals or artificial ingredients, and the cooked beef is not prepared with MSG.

Currently the company is producing restaurant packs of their products, which are served at major resorts on the west coast such as Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay. "Our business continues to grow more than 20 per cent per year" said Caudill. "We feel that heat-and-serve products are the trend of the future."

From the Rockies to the East Coast

Alma, Kansas, a small community about halfway between Topeka and Junction City on I-70, is the home of Flint Hills Foods, a major producer of ready-to-serve beef products, including their best-selling beef barbecue entree.

"Our barbecue is cooked with our own sauce and we produce it both on our own label and for private labels," said Todd Hanson, Flint Hills marketing director. "We have been in the beef business for a long time, but have been in the fully cooked meat business for about five years. It all started when we were asked to satisfy a customer’s request and has grown from there," he said. The company grossed about $14 million last year and grew almost 25 per cent. They distribute from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Barbecue beef is their sales leader. The meat is cooked with the base sauce, has a shelf life of more than two weeks, and can be frozen. Currently, they are selling it to major grocery store chains, delis and restaurants. "Our largest area of growth is the retail market in the ready-to-serve area. In terms of promotion, Hanson said that they rely heavily on a radio ad campaigns, store ads and product demonstrations. "We are very proud of producing for a number of different labels, he said. "Including one major food catalog firm."

Catalog Sales Increase

Swiss Colony has been a leader in catalog food sales since it was founded in Monroe, Wisconsin in 1926. The catalog is sent to consumers in every state and several foreign countries, and the prepared foods are sent to customers frozen by overnight delivery services.

Company spokesperson Marilys Schendel explained that ten years ago, the company recognized the potential for the sale of quality meat products. In addition to those sold in the Swiss Colony catalog, the company started a new catalog, The Tender Filet, which featured gourmet offerings including ready to heat and serve steaks and roasts; smoked ham, turkey and bacon; and barbecue. The barbecue entrees include hickory smoked pork babyback ribs, beef ribs, shredded beef, chicken and pork. The barbecue sauce is part of the entree.

All of the Swiss Colony products are produced on contract by companies like Flint Hills Foods. "We insist on the highest quality foods with many checks before the product goes into our catalogs or to the customer," said Schendel. "We started with pork barbecue and added beef about four years ago. Beef now outsells pork. We are always looking for new high quality heat-and-serve products."

Robb’s Ribbs Looks to Expand

Robb’s Ribbs is a neighborhood barbecue restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The dining room walls are covered with paintings, photos of large fish, and cartoons of Robb and his friends. He serves microbrew beer and a selection of barbecued meats that people come from miles around to eat. The smell of the smoking meat grabs you and draws you to the restaurant.

Robb Richmond started out as a backyard cook specializing in barbecued ribs that were so good that friends encouraged him to go into the business. "I have been a chef for the last ten years and have operated three restaurants--each larger than the last," said Richmond as he stood in the dining room. "I think I have developed a product that can be successfully marketed to the general public, and that product is St. Louis style ribs."

To make these special ribs, Richmond starts with a rub that contains his own mixture of spices, but no preservatives, flavor enhancers, or food coloring, and then smokes the meat using four aromatic woods. "I do not cook the ribs with barbecue sauce. That is added by the customers to their taste," he said. "I feel that we could please 90 percent of the people who do their own rubs and sauce."

Richmond’s barbecue sauce is well known in the industry, having won three first place awards. The sauce was also featured in a special New Mexico Presentation at the Bloomingdale’s Department Store in New York City. There is both a regular (pretty spicy) and habanero (pretty hot) sauce. They sell equally well.

In looking for new business opportunities, Richmond realized that his method of meat preparation was perfect for the heat-and-serve trend in beef and other meats. He started by running taste tests with brands currently on the market and felt his was superior in taste and texture. "I don't like meat swimming in sauce," he said, "and I don’t think most people do." The final product is a plastic bag containing the ribs, either in a home or restaurant pack, with a separate package containing the sauce. It can be prepared on a grill (the preferred way) or in an oven or microwave.

However, getting a new food on the market is a challenge, especially for a small businessman. It involves finding suppliers for high quality ribs, companies to make the rubs and barbecue sauce in the necessary quantity and quality, and a food processor--all in USDA-approved plants. Once all that has been done, packaging must be designed. "And most important," said Richmond, "is selling the product to major retail outlets."

Currently, Richmond is making the rounds of both retailers and manufacturers to conduct demonstrations and comparisons with existing products. "The biggest challenge is that buyers are happy with ‘Brand X,’ or are unwilling to try a new product. The next biggest challenge is getting to talk to the right person in the company."

But, like entrepreneurs the world over, Richmond has his goals set high and is chasing the dream of having his product in stores all over the U. S. It is a real challenge--he has a lot of competition--but with the increasing nationwide popularity of heat-and-serve meat products, he might just make it.

David Jackson is a Contributing Editor for Fiery Foods & Barbecue Business Magazine, and has spent the last forty years working in national public relations, editing several publications, and writing books and articles on numerous subjects.

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Foodservice Seeks Shortcuts

As foodservice operators increasingly strive to cut labor costs and increase quality consistency, they are buying more convenience products. According to Technomic Inc., in 1997 there were 1.7 billion pounds of value-added beef sold in foodservice, and by 2001, that number is expected to grow by more than 130 million pounds. Following is a list of the most popular value-added beef products in foodservice:

1. Rotisserie beef
2. Meatloaf
3. Pre-cooked beef fajita strips
4. Marinated, seasoned whole-muscle steaks
5.Beef appetizers
6. Pre-cooked beef crumbles
7. Pre-cooked ground beef patties
8. Mexican beef entrees.
9. Deli roast beef.
10. Beef soups

Source: National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn./The Foodville Gazette.

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