Beef Marketplace Update 

Beef is leading meat case growth. Over the last 52 weeks, beef delivered $44.6B in retail sales, up 12.2%, outpacing other major proteins; beef volume also rose 4.4%.

Beef Cuts and Value Add

• Ground beef is the workhorse. It shows broad‑based momentum: 52‑week dollar sales +13.6% and volume +3.2%, with even stronger gains in the last 4 weeks (dollars +17.2%, volume +3.6%).
• Steaks are premium—and price sensitive. Dollar sales are up, but short‑term volume dipped (‑2.2% over 13 weeks; ‑0.9% over 4 weeks) as price per lb. climbed to $11.06 (+7.5% 52‑week; +8.7% 13‑week).
• Value‑added beef is expanding. Ready‑to‑cook/seasoned items grew in dollars (+9.8% 52‑week) and volume (+7.4% 52‑week), signaling demand for convenience.

Tis the Season

• Seasonal opportunity: Brisket shows a recent surge (+18.7% dollars; +7.0% volume in the last 4 weeks), aligning with holiday/entertaining.

Price Increases Across the Majority of the Protein Aisle

• Average price per lb.: Beef $7.18 (+7.5% 52‑week) vs Chicken $3.17 (+3.3% 52‑week), Pork $3.27 (+2.1% 52‑week), Turkey $2.62 (+0.3% 52‑week); ground beef rose fastest ($5.65, +10.1% 52‑week; $5.99, +12.4% 13‑week; $5.96 , +13.2% 4-week.
• Alternative meats continue to soften. Meat alternatives declined in dollars (‑12.8%) and volume (‑11.5%), while remaining a relatively premium price point (~$8+/lb).

Consumers plan to keep or increase beef in their diets—especially younger cohorts. Most plan to eat more or about the same, and Gen Z has the highest intent to eat more (≈32%); less than 1% of any cohort do not plan to eat beef in the future.

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