IN A competitive retail world, butchers are maintaining their market share by encouraging repeat sales based on a quality beef product.
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It’s good news for beef producers, whether they supply the supermarkets or not.
Butchers in northern NSW are often buying out of the saleyards, helping underpin the market.
Preferences for breeds differ, but butchers are happy with the article hanging in their coolrooms and cut up in display cases.
In Gunnedah, WB Meats owner, Geoff Barnett, likes to buy Limousin-cross for their healthy carcase yield out of the local yards – he said these gave him a higher profit margin when his customers were on a budget.
“Beef producers are doing a good job,” he said.
“They wouldn’t find a market for their cattle otherwise.”
Like beef producers, shoppers are doing it tougher with higher electricity prices.
“People haven’t quite got the money to spend as they did last year because living costs have gone up,” Mr Barnett said.
“Whatever is on special is normally snapped up.”
In Tamworth, Paddock to Plate owner, Steve Thompson, said sourcing cattle locally helped take on the “big boys”.
“A lot of people are sick of the supermarkets and are unhappy with the inconsistency of their products,” he said.
His yearling milk tooths are sourced both out of the paddock and from the yards, processed at Fredrickton, on the mid north coast.
“We’re not under-priced or over-priced,” Mr Thompson said.
With pork and chicken competing for market share at comparatively low prices, Mr Thompson said his customers were turning to meat packs for their beef fix, including cuts like rump roasts and chops, as well as products like sausages and mince.
“These budget packs are giving customers a week’s worth of meat for the family,” he said.
In Glen Innes, Bruce Family Butchery owner, Adrian Bruce, said the premium cuts, like scotch fillet and T-bones, were tempting some people to spend the money.
“A lot of people know what they want and they don’t mind paying for it; then you get budget shoppers,” he said.
“I would say it’s a 50/50 split.”
All his beef is sourced out of the paddock or the local saleyard and processed at Stanthorpe.
These are usually Angus or Angus-cross depending on availability and all less than 18 months.
Mr Bruce said the marbling certainly helped provide that premium product with guaranteed eating quality.
“It doesn’t have to be Angus, but the end product has to be consistent,” he said.
His marketing strategy was straightforward.
“Provide the right product and provide the service, if you do that the rest will follow and people will keep coming back,” he said.
To further boost sales, Mr Bruce has tried his hand at value-added products like steak filo pastries.
