Brand Update 2020
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BR update <strong>2020</strong><br />
ND<br />
SIGHTS SET AHEAD page 4
BRAND UPDATE <strong>2020</strong><br />
Managing Editor: Nicole Erceg<br />
Senior Editor: Steve Suther<br />
Art Director: David Barry<br />
Designer: Tina Melicant<br />
Circulation Manager: Beth Barner<br />
Contributing Writers: Kylee Kohls, Crystal Meier,<br />
Courtney Middleton, Bryan Schaaf<br />
President: John F. Stika, Ph.D.<br />
Senior Executive Vice Presidents: Brent Eichar,<br />
Tracey Erickson<br />
Executive Vice Presidents: Bruce Cobb,<br />
Steve Ringle<br />
<strong>2020</strong>-21 Board of Directors:<br />
Jonathan Perry, Chairman, Fayetteville, Tennessee<br />
Chuck Grove*, Forest, Virginia<br />
Dave Hinman, Malta, Montana<br />
Mike McCravy, Bowden, Georgia<br />
Barry Pollard*, Enid, Oklahoma<br />
Mick Varilek*, Geddes, South Dakota<br />
Dwight “Kip” Palmer, Rochester, New York<br />
Mark McCully, Vice Chairman,<br />
CEO American Angus Association ® ,<br />
St. Joseph, Missouri<br />
John Stika, President, Certified Angus<br />
Beef LLC, Wooster, Ohio<br />
Brent Eichar, Secretary Treasurer, Certified Angus<br />
Beef LLC, Wooster, Ohio<br />
* New board member<br />
Board Members through<br />
November <strong>2020</strong>:<br />
John Grimes, Chairman, Hillsboro, Ohio<br />
James W. Henderson, Childress, Texas<br />
Published by:<br />
American Angus Association ®<br />
c/o Certified Angus Beef LLC<br />
206 Riffel Road<br />
Wooster, OH 44691-8588 USA<br />
Phone: 330-345-2333<br />
Fax: 330-345-0808<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com<br />
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand name<br />
and marks are service/trademarks of<br />
Certified Angus Beef LLC.<br />
© <strong>2020</strong> Volume 24, Issue 1,<br />
published annually. All rights reserved.<br />
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is the original Angus brand,<br />
founded in 1978 by Angus cattlemen. Our mission has<br />
remained the same since day one: To increase demand<br />
for registered Angus cattle through a specification-based<br />
branded beef program to identify consistent, high quality<br />
beef with superior taste.<br />
PRESIDENT’S<br />
MESSAGE<br />
It might come as a surprise that I write this year’s letter<br />
filled with optimism. There’s no ignoring the challenges<br />
presented by the global pandemic, but this year is filled<br />
with opportunity too.<br />
The steer in our logo faces forward for a reason. It’s<br />
a subtle reminder of our goal to build a better beef<br />
community for everyone from gate to plate, like the<br />
vision of the ranchers who started this brand. Our vision<br />
is focused on changing and evolving to continue to excel<br />
in the future.<br />
We’re building on a truly remarkable history. Looking back,<br />
this brand has grown through a number of challenges<br />
including the BSE outbreak that crashed cattle markets and<br />
the 2008 economic recession. In fact, we were born inside a<br />
marketplace that thought lean beef was best. Overcoming<br />
challenge is part of our DNA. I’m confident that the<br />
learnings from this year give us better insights to build an<br />
even stronger, more innovative brand to serve you better.<br />
Every day I chat with people who have a stake in our<br />
success including; beef business leaders, retailers,<br />
packers, foodservice professionals, team members,<br />
community leaders and Angus ranchers. These<br />
conversations are the best part of my days. The<br />
feedback I hear is one way to affirm that we’ve made<br />
a lot of progress in growing the brand. This year, the<br />
conversations have had a different tone, one filled with<br />
tenacity, some pain, but an overwhelming commitment<br />
to get the job done no matter what was thrown our way.<br />
Consumers continue to demand high-quality beef and their<br />
expectations for how that’s delivered are expanding. We<br />
have more work to do and are making changes to support<br />
the recovery of foodservice, serve a consumer that’s become<br />
more reliant on retail and create deeper connections with<br />
each person in our value chain around the world. We are<br />
focused on operational excellence, driving that momentum<br />
through every corner of our business.<br />
We also continue to focus on our culture. It’s how<br />
we put our vision and values — the bedrock of our<br />
company, into practice. And that’s how we will achieve<br />
our goals. In order for Certified Angus Beef LLC to fulfill<br />
our vision of helping our customers succeed, it takes<br />
each team member living our values every day.<br />
It’s the people across this community who make me<br />
excited for what’s ahead. What we saw across our<br />
licensee base this year was nothing short of incredible. It<br />
was people, helping people. I’m humbled and grateful to<br />
call you partners.<br />
This brand remains strongly positioned to support your<br />
success, ready to assist in new ways and we look forward<br />
to serving you in the year ahead.<br />
President John F. Stika, Ph.D.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 1
CHAIRMAN’S<br />
MESSAGE<br />
It’s been a year that asked for a lot.<br />
Trust. Patience. Creativity.<br />
The beef business reaches far beyond the barn. My<br />
fellow cattlemen and I appreciate those of you who<br />
market, serve and sell our steaks. We are grateful for the<br />
trust you place in our families as we strive to continue<br />
providing a quality product for your business and family.<br />
To know the people and the story behind the Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand logo is something we cattlemen<br />
take pride in. It stems from the hard work done at the<br />
farm, ranch, feedyard and processing facilities, and<br />
the dedication of those marketing our beef around the<br />
world; to the knowledge behind the meat counter and<br />
the passion put on plates (or in takeout containers) at<br />
restaurants — each play a vital role on the team.<br />
This year, we’ve all had our eyes opened to how fragile<br />
the food supply chain can be. It’s admirable to witness<br />
the creative changes you made when faced with<br />
challenges. To know that you keep coming back to<br />
our beef means a lot to my fellow Angus breeders and<br />
I. Your drive, dedication and communication with the<br />
brand helps make us better. We use your feedback<br />
to make more informed decisions on the ranch when<br />
selecting genetics and managing our herds.<br />
Working together, we continue to build trust. As<br />
cattlemen, we are tasked with creating a nimble Angus<br />
breed resulting in great-tasting beef. As a brand, we<br />
have to stay on the forefront of demand and meet the<br />
needs of our customers, retailers and the foodservice<br />
businesses. Thank you for trusting our team through<br />
change and challenges this year.<br />
With eyes set on the future, we each have a hand in<br />
protecting the tradition and driving progress forward.<br />
From genetic decisions on the ranch to everything that<br />
determines the final eating experience, quality control is<br />
critical in each step.<br />
Cattlemen focus on stewarding resources in our care<br />
— land and livestock alike — for a more sustainable<br />
future the next generation can trust and look forward to.<br />
I am honored to be a part of your team and our shared<br />
commitment to quality, working together to preserve<br />
and grow the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.<br />
John Grimes<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® Board Chairman <strong>2020</strong><br />
Maplecrest Farms – Hillsboro, Ohio<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 3
SIGHTS SET<br />
AHEAD<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® brand closes<br />
Fiscal Year <strong>2020</strong> impacted by<br />
pandemic, but momentum strong<br />
in sales.<br />
It was the year no one expected. For every bump in the road,<br />
new avenues for leading business emerged — opportunity<br />
born of adversity.<br />
For the first time in 16 years, the Certified Angus Beef ® brand<br />
finished the year down in year over year comparisons, but <strong>2020</strong><br />
remains one for the history books. For the fifth consecutive<br />
year the brand marketed more than 1 billion pounds across<br />
51 countries. Global sales totaled 1.175 billion pounds, down<br />
about 6% or almost 75 million pounds.<br />
“We’re prepared and positioned today to support our<br />
partners’ business recovery and growth as we move<br />
forward,” John Stika, Certified Angus Beef ® president, says.<br />
“We’re fortunate to be in good shape because of the<br />
combined effort across our community.”<br />
Managing through widespread crisis is not unprecedented<br />
for the beef brand. In 2004, when BSE disrupted the beef<br />
industry, brand sales declined 80 million pounds, a fairly<br />
similar volume decrease for <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
pound loss in business that we experienced then translated into<br />
a 13.5% decline in both tonnage and resources compared to<br />
the 6% we’ll manage through this year,” Stika says.<br />
The brand remains stable with a steady supply, and Stika<br />
looks to the future with expectations for business growth.<br />
Reaching for Records<br />
The brand began the fiscal year in October 2019 working<br />
through lingering disruption from the packing plant fire<br />
in Kansas. That time period challenged the international<br />
business and the ability to secure retail feature activity,<br />
especially moving into the holidays.<br />
Foodservice, on the other hand, was on record pace.<br />
With a combination of manageable prices and availability in<br />
January and February, sales across all segments strengthened.<br />
This landed both months among the top 10 sales months in<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® history.<br />
March made the record books’ top 10, too.<br />
While the month saw foodservice and international business<br />
decline by 40% due to the onset of COVID-19, consumers<br />
transitioned their buying patterns. Retail business spiked, all<br />
but offsetting the decline experienced in other areas.<br />
At the peak of the pandemic in April and May, foodservice<br />
and international sales were down 72% and 64% respectively.<br />
Retail business was up almost 44%.<br />
June brought continuity reestablishing itself in the supply<br />
chain and moved into fall with two months of 100 million<br />
pounds or more.<br />
Supply Set to Meet Demand<br />
The Angus family farmers and ranchers who own and supply<br />
the Certified Angus Beef ® brand remain focused on raising<br />
cattle that meet brand standards. In <strong>2020</strong>, a record 35.9% of<br />
all Angus-influenced cattle managed to meet the brand’s 10<br />
quality specifications. Their efforts enable licensed processors,<br />
distributors, restaurateurs and retailers to consistently meet<br />
consumer demand — that remains strong in a rollercoaster year.<br />
Stika says the brand’s focus is helping meet that demand,<br />
though how diverse segments serve consumers may look<br />
different moving forward. Closing the books on <strong>2020</strong>, he’s<br />
grateful and optimistic.<br />
“For as much as we have enjoyed the past, our focus is not on<br />
saving the past,” he says. “Rather our focus will be on changing,<br />
evolving and being more flexible so that we can really excel for<br />
our partners in the future regardless of what it looks like.”<br />
Consumers continue to crave beef.<br />
That one thing remains predictable.<br />
2016<br />
2017<br />
2018<br />
2019<br />
<strong>2020</strong><br />
2016<br />
2017<br />
2018<br />
2019<br />
Total sales: 1.175 billion lbs. (6% decrease)<br />
RETAIL<br />
602 MILLION LBS.<br />
<strong>2020</strong><br />
12 %<br />
FOODSERVICE<br />
324 MILLION LBS.<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
161 MILLION LBS.<br />
MISC*<br />
88 MILLION LBS.<br />
FISCAL <strong>2020</strong> SALES BY DIVISION<br />
*cannot be assigned to a specific division<br />
END MEATS<br />
717 MILLION LBS.<br />
5.7 %<br />
MIDDLE MEATS<br />
23.6 %<br />
251 MILLION LBS.<br />
8.7 %<br />
GROUND BEEF<br />
22.4 %<br />
207 MILLION LBS.<br />
3.7 %<br />
VALUE-ADDED<br />
8.6 % 31 MILLION LBS. 7.5 %<br />
FISCAL <strong>2020</strong> SALES BY<br />
PRODUCT CATEGORY<br />
“In 2004, total sales of Certified Angus Beef ® were roughly<br />
43% of what they are today, and as a result, that 80 million<br />
Putting all 12 months together, retail had a record year<br />
increasing by 12% while foodservice and international sales<br />
are down roughly 23%.<br />
28.9 29.7 32.5 35.0 35.9<br />
% % % % %<br />
®<br />
CAB ACCEPTANCE RATE<br />
2017<br />
2018<br />
2019<br />
<strong>2020</strong><br />
3.9M 4.5M 5.2M 5.7M 5.5M<br />
CARCASSES CERTIFED<br />
2017<br />
2018<br />
2019<br />
<strong>2020</strong><br />
5th consecutive year over 1 billion lbs.<br />
More than 19,000 business partners worldwide.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 5
CAN-DO SPIRITS<br />
LIFT COMMUNITIES<br />
DURING COVID-19<br />
When crisis strikes, Certified Angus Beef ®<br />
partners show up to help.<br />
It was the third Sunday of March. Chef Vinnie Cimino was prepping<br />
for the sixth day of service at his brand new Cleveland restaurant,<br />
Summer House. He didn’t know it yet but the doors would not open<br />
again for months.<br />
“As far as restaurant openings go, we crushed it,” said Cimino, whose<br />
culinary resume includes famous eateries and James Beard Award<br />
winners. “We were busy, just six days in and getting a lot of positive<br />
feedback. I’ve never seen an opening go so well.”<br />
Later that Sunday, the word went out. Restaurants across Ohio would<br />
close in the early ripples of a tidal wave of COVID-19 ordinances that<br />
spread across the country. The brunt of those decisions fell on chefs and<br />
restaurateurs everywhere — no business in the foodservice supply chain<br />
would go unscathed.<br />
The year of such promise and vision had taken a very sudden turn for<br />
the worse.<br />
“This has certainly been the most challenging thing I’ve ever faced,” said<br />
Greg Janssen, Vice President at Del Monte Meats, a San Francisco<br />
resource for chefs since 1926. “Even the guys who’ve been in my network<br />
much longer say there’s never been anything like it.”<br />
But the food industry, from waitstaff all the way up the chain to farmers<br />
and ranchers, is built on resilient people. Cimino, Janssen and colleagues<br />
everywhere rose to the challenge.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 7
Chef Cimino and crew of Cleveland Family Meal.<br />
Chefs Keep Cooking<br />
In what would have been his second week open,<br />
Cimino launched Cleveland Family Meal behind<br />
those doors, where he and his kitchen crew teamed<br />
up with other prominent chefs, including Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand partners Matt Spinner and Dave<br />
Kocab from Ushabu, to provide both cooked and<br />
raw foods for other restaurant workers who were<br />
suddenly unemployed. The project began with food in<br />
the pantry, but donations from purveyors and friends<br />
quickly rolled in to where it became a movement.<br />
operation didn’t fit the to-go order model,” said the<br />
Omaha Hospitality Hall of Famer. “I knew I had food I<br />
needed to use, and once we took care of staff, I decided<br />
to put it out on social media that I would provide meals<br />
for out-of-school children who needed help and any<br />
elderly whose health might be compromised.”<br />
Intended as a on-time solution to ensure the food<br />
went to good use, donations of both product and<br />
their talents kept the initiative alive.<br />
“We acquired a lot of proteins and other products<br />
from other chefs who didn’t want their food to go<br />
to waste,” Wheeler said. “So we started cooking and<br />
serving the homeless and out-of-work restaurant<br />
folks and, quite frankly, anybody who was in need of<br />
a meal in these times. I had Dan Watts from Sysco<br />
Lincoln smoking slabs of ribs, Blaine Hunter from<br />
Porky Butts BBQ smoked pork shoulders and Jacobson<br />
Fish donated 30 pounds of yellowfin tuna that I<br />
transformed into tuna sandwiches. A lot of really great<br />
people were involved.”<br />
In Miami, Fla., Chef Peter Vauthy from RED, The<br />
Steakhouse, Carla DiLorenzo from Los Tanitos<br />
and the crew at Okeechobee Steakhouse kept their<br />
kitchens running in part by cooking for first responders<br />
and healthcare workers.<br />
In Houston, Taste of Texas, Republic Grille and Sysco<br />
Houston all went to great lengths to feed hospital<br />
staff, police and fire personnel working round the<br />
clock. Texas icons Tom and Lisa Perini from Perini<br />
Ranch in Buffalo Gap donated thousands of dollars in<br />
steaks to their local food pantry to help with an evergrowing<br />
need.<br />
Foodservice Fights for<br />
Restaurant Survival<br />
Restaurants closing or adapting to lower-volume<br />
alternatives left foodservice distributors in a difficult<br />
place, much of their customer base diminished or<br />
gone without warning.<br />
Many could sell inventories to retailers facing heavy<br />
demand, but then the distributors looked for ways to<br />
keep their staff employed.<br />
Buckhead and its parent company Sysco helped<br />
restaurants across the country transform into “pop-up<br />
shops,” or corner stores with all the foodstuffs and<br />
paper products that quarantined people might need.<br />
North of the border, Gordon Food Services Canada<br />
launched a website in partnership with Restaurant<br />
Canada as a one-stop resource for restaurants trying<br />
to shift their business models and stay afloat.<br />
Independently owned meat shops also worked with<br />
restaurant customers to help their businesses during<br />
the transition to carryout and catering options.<br />
“Once it started hitting the fan, we needed to figure<br />
out how we were going to react,” said Edward Hall of<br />
Lone Star Meats in Austin. “We found some homes<br />
for product at retail, and then we figured out which of<br />
our restaurant partners were staying open. A lot of our<br />
restaurants have very loyal followings, so we started<br />
making pre-made care packages at different price levels<br />
for them to sell on.”<br />
Lone Star joined in the growing trend of creating directto-consumer<br />
websites that helped stabilize revenues and<br />
kept people on the payroll.<br />
“Fortunately, we jumped on pretty quick, got some<br />
systems in place and got everyone going,” said Addam<br />
Evans of Evans Meats in Birmingham, Ala., and<br />
donated a percentage of all direct-to-consumer revenue<br />
to independent restaurant partners affected by COVID-<br />
19. “There are a lot of people out there scrapping, and it<br />
kept some revenue coming in.”<br />
Evans initially started a curbside program for pickup<br />
at his company’s warehouse; as it evolved, he sent five<br />
trucks around the city to set up as more accessible,<br />
mobile curbside units.<br />
“Hospitality is what defines our industry, so<br />
that’s what we did,” said Cimino. “Be hospitable,<br />
show hospitality and cook. This has been what I<br />
do to occupy my time, and to focus on the good<br />
rather than dwelling on the bad. We’ll keep<br />
feeding people until we can’t anymore.”<br />
Charleston, S.C., Pitmaster Anthony DiBernardo<br />
from Swig & Swine committed thousands of dollars<br />
in local grocery-store gift cards to his out-of-work<br />
employees, while his business shifted to takeout<br />
only. Across the state, his friend Joe Urban, who<br />
oversees Nutrition Services at Greenville County<br />
Schools, continued to push out 25,000 meals per<br />
day for students in his school district, even though<br />
in-person classes had been suspended.<br />
In Omaha, local restaurant icon Glenn Wheeler of<br />
Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops found himself with<br />
a walk-in cooler filled with perishables. With the<br />
help of friends and other chefs in the city, Wheeler<br />
put together a robust plan to address growing needs<br />
in the community.<br />
“The order came down that Omaha restaurants had<br />
to be closed to no more than 10 people, and our<br />
“For many of the 77,000 students in our district,<br />
the meals they receive during school are the only<br />
substantive nutrition,” Urban said. It helped many<br />
families, not having to pay for meals when money is<br />
tight; for others, just knowing they could get food at<br />
all was life preserving.<br />
“We all know there is poverty in our communities, but<br />
most have no clue as to how severe that actually is for<br />
some families,” Urban said.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 9
Retailers Respond<br />
Grocery stores and employees were deemed essential<br />
to the public well-being, a mixed blessing that soon<br />
inundated the sector with panic-driven demand from<br />
consumers making long-term plans.<br />
Pushed to work round the clock just to try keeping their<br />
shelves stocked, retail food employees were on the front<br />
lines as much as any emergency personnel.<br />
Meijer stores across several Midwestern states expanded<br />
its efforts to give back and support local communities.<br />
The retail giant’s signature Simply Give program, which<br />
generated more than $50 million since 2008 for local<br />
food pantries, donated an additional $2.2 million in<br />
<strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Price Chopper stores in Kansas City took a creative<br />
approach to maintaining stocked shelves, such as<br />
working “across the aisle” with those who typically source<br />
products for foodservice customers. The chain also<br />
returned $250,000 to its community through a donation<br />
to Harvesters Community Food Network, helping those<br />
most affected by the pandemic.<br />
It’s not every day that a major Hollywood filmmaker and<br />
actor picks up the tab for groceries. But for a group of<br />
seniors and high-risk shoppers at 29 Louisiana Winn-<br />
Dixie stores, that’s exactly what happened when Tyler<br />
Perry decided to spread some kindness.<br />
Inspired by his example, Winn-Dixie’s parent company,<br />
Southeastern Grocers, elected to pay it forward by<br />
paying for the groceries of thousands of healthcare<br />
professionals and first responders shopping in stores<br />
across seven states.<br />
“As a community, we are stronger together and will<br />
win together with kindness,” said Anthony Hucker,<br />
president and CEO. “Southeastern Grocers is<br />
dedicated to being there for the community when they<br />
need us the most, and we believe there is no better<br />
time than now.”<br />
In Oklahoma, Reasor’s hosted a Spring for Meals<br />
Fund and Food Drive, as a benefit for the Community<br />
Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and its network of<br />
350 partner organizations, while St. Louis bastion<br />
Schnucks donated more than $500,000 to support<br />
those in the region affected by the pandemic. It also<br />
launched a Round Up at the Register campaign,<br />
inviting shoppers to pay it forward through their<br />
donations to the local United Way.<br />
There may be no greater testament to the goodness<br />
of humanity, in a year that could be measured<br />
against history for all the wrong reasons, than<br />
the seemingly endless examples of people helping<br />
people. The Certified Angus Beef ® brand salutes these<br />
and the countless others who have made this world<br />
a better place in extremely challenging times.<br />
EXTRA BITES<br />
This year asked us to do a lot of<br />
things differently.<br />
The brand expanded communication with<br />
partners, got creative with advertising efforts<br />
and created resources to use from anywhere.<br />
<strong>Brand</strong> Bites email newsletters were sent<br />
with added frequency and more tools<br />
crafted for folks in distribution, retail,<br />
foodservice and restaurant businesses to<br />
use. The team also started <strong>Brand</strong> Bites on<br />
Demand, a monthly video deep-dive into<br />
trends and tools for distributors.<br />
“Great info — fantastic way of reaching<br />
out to everyone, keeping us informed<br />
and abreast of what is happening in this<br />
changing environment,” as Juan Lopez of<br />
Sysco Atlanta put it. “I’m looking forward<br />
to the next episode!”<br />
Digital chef chats on social media and<br />
Zoom calls, along with online marketing<br />
and carryout resources increased outreach<br />
to restaurants.<br />
“It was hard to know how we could help our<br />
restaurant partners enough through these<br />
challenging times. We were here<br />
and standing ready with resources when<br />
they needed us,” says Deanna Walenciak,<br />
vice president of brand marketing.<br />
The 30-second “Rare Moments Done Well” TV<br />
commercial was reimagined as “Rare Moments<br />
Done Differently” when the global pandemic<br />
made at-home activities the new normal.<br />
Numbers drive decisions. This year’s<br />
advertising campaigns followed the data<br />
and placed ads where people engaged most<br />
with media. In Milwaukee, audio spots<br />
found placement on Pandora’s streaming<br />
service, while in Green Bay they played on the<br />
radio. Consumer behavior insights like that<br />
determine strategic media spends around the<br />
country, connecting with customers in the<br />
best place at the right time.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 11
A QUALITY<br />
LEGACY<br />
The father of the<br />
brand’s<br />
specifications<br />
led with<br />
conviction.<br />
Industrywide change requires people with a special kind<br />
of persistence.<br />
It takes data and drive.<br />
To launch the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, Bobby “Dr.<br />
Bob” VanStavern was one such man.<br />
brand, the meat scientist had the answers they were<br />
searching for.<br />
“I kept my research data in my bottom drawer,” he<br />
recalled in 2019. “So I hauled out this packet of carcass<br />
research data that tended to say what the specifications<br />
should be.”<br />
Bob believed it did,” says John Stika, the brand’s<br />
president. “He believed that it did, and was persistent<br />
in communicating it.”<br />
He continued sharing the science for 25 years as a<br />
consultant to the brand and his push for better beef<br />
became the new watchword.<br />
As a meat scientist in Extension outreach at The Ohio<br />
State University, VanStavern consulted food business<br />
leaders. He heard their calls for consistent, superior<br />
beef, yet “lean” was the watchword of the late 1970s.<br />
VanStavern didn’t buy it. His research showed why<br />
consumers enjoy eating beef: taste.<br />
When Mick Colvin and Fred Johnson approached him<br />
on behalf of cattlemen forming the original Angus beef<br />
Modest or higher marbling. Limits for maturity, yield,<br />
marbling texture and lean color. The same specifications<br />
the brand, its partners and consumers worldwide rely on<br />
today for the best beef.<br />
With VanStavern guiding its meat science, the first<br />
Angus beef brand became the benchmark for quality.<br />
“He presented the specifications for different audiences<br />
and was told it didn’t hold the kind of credibility Dr.<br />
Dr. Bob passed away in February <strong>2020</strong>, leaving behind<br />
his beloved family and a vast community of brand friends<br />
who believe in the quality framework he established.<br />
“You see Dr. Bob’s fingerprints every time we give the<br />
Science Behind the Sizzle presentation and in every great<br />
steak,” Stika says. “Our product quality and consistency<br />
is a reflection of his career, of his impact on this brand<br />
and across the industry.”<br />
Dr. Bob VanStavern<br />
Father of the specifications<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 13
His legacy lives on in the meat scientists<br />
who continue to communicate the<br />
science today and support partners who<br />
bring the brand to market.<br />
“He set the foundation and pointed<br />
us in the best direction,” says Diana<br />
Clark, meat scientist for the brand.<br />
“We have the best beef out there. We<br />
continue honoring him by challenging<br />
ourselves to always make it better.”<br />
Lessons he shared still ring true, even<br />
in tough times. His persistence urged<br />
the brand’s founders and partners<br />
forward: never say it can’t be done.<br />
Quality matters. Believe the data.<br />
Be persistent.<br />
Share your beliefs with conviction,<br />
helping others along the way. Dr. Bob<br />
always did.<br />
Listen to the Meat Speak podcast episode,<br />
and read more about Dr. Bob and the<br />
mentorship established in his honor with<br />
the American Meat Science Association.<br />
“Things he advocated for seem<br />
commonplace today, because 40<br />
years later, others are touting<br />
quality in the marketplace.<br />
Because of Dr. Bob’s solid<br />
opinion and willingness to<br />
defend it, there’s an entire<br />
industry today that gets it.”<br />
— John Stika, Certified Angus Beef ® President<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 15
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 17
Impressions Across Social Platforms<br />
SOCIAL CHANNEL <strong>2020</strong><br />
DIGITAL DIALOGUE<br />
Building common ground on social media.<br />
From ranch pastures to home kitchens, social media connects beef eaters<br />
around the world. Trending digital isn’t new, but increased dramatically<br />
as stay-at-home orders meant added screen time.<br />
“Everyone was eager for a connection and social media was the place<br />
people turned,” says Margaret Coleman, the brand’s director of<br />
digital platforms. “It’s our job to figure out how we can entertain,<br />
educate and engage.”<br />
Simply great beef, fun recipes and friendly faces filled the brand<br />
channels, teaching how to cook with a pandemic pantry. Really fresh<br />
faces and locations appeared in videos as chefs recruited their kids to<br />
help film from home kitchens, creating meals and relatable moments the<br />
whole family could enjoy.<br />
Positive and inspiring content made kitchen mastery within easy reach,<br />
home tables a bit fuller. A few taps on a phone screen and there was a<br />
chef, ready to collaborate on solutions — or a rancher providing a tour<br />
of the family farm.<br />
It sparked conversations.<br />
Questions about how cattle are raised and new ideas for dinner were<br />
delivered. CertifiedAngusBeef.com visits increased 40% year over year,<br />
with recipes the most-wanted content. More than 380,000 people<br />
virtually visited a ranch by watching on Facebook Live.<br />
The team waiting just a tap away made online interactions feel familiar.<br />
There’s always someone behind the logo on the screen, ready to share in<br />
home-cooking triumphs and answer all beef-related inquiries.<br />
“Our direct messages feel like you are texting with a friend,” says Paige<br />
Clayton, digital marketing specialist.<br />
Each day, the team thoughtfully responds to every comment, question<br />
and string of emojis posted across the brand’s social channels,<br />
connecting around the globe.<br />
Making the world feel smaller, one click, tap or page scroll<br />
at a time.<br />
Facebook<br />
Twitter<br />
Instagram<br />
Pinterest<br />
YouTube<br />
LinkedIn<br />
Web (<strong>2020</strong> page views - recipes & kitchen)<br />
90.7M<br />
1.2M<br />
13.7M<br />
33.0M<br />
28.4M<br />
548,014<br />
9.3M<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 19
BONJOUR!<br />
KONICHIWA!<br />
Saying hello to global connectivity<br />
through new media.<br />
Where the Certified Angus Beef ® brand<br />
family gathers, authentic and creative<br />
flavors collide. The brand’s international<br />
team empowers partners to bring a global<br />
perspective to the table.<br />
“While we aren’t able to physically sit at the same<br />
table together, connecting and engaging resilient<br />
partners is part of the team’s strategy for success,” says<br />
Gebran Charbine, vice president of brand marketing,<br />
international and multicultural.<br />
It’s a recipe worth repeating.<br />
“We want to make something from scratch and build<br />
something together that’s infused with the best of<br />
everyone,” says Charbine. “That’s how we enhance our<br />
multicultural marketing message.”<br />
The brand serves 51 countries outside of the<br />
United States. Canada leads the way in sales<br />
followed by Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong,<br />
Mexico and Taiwan, respectively.<br />
¡Hola!<br />
As the world diversifies and cultures collide, the team<br />
looks for new ways to connect on a more personal level<br />
with partners. Almost 50% of the brand’s Instagram and<br />
over 10% of the Facebook following are Spanish speakers.<br />
“We were looking at a way to be able to connect with<br />
consumers, especially our Latin or Spanish-speaking<br />
consumers, both outside and inside the United<br />
States,” says Charbine. “We have partners in 12 Latin<br />
American or Spanish-speaking countries and a great<br />
opportunity to reach domestic Spanish-speaking<br />
consumers.”<br />
The team launched CertifiedAngusBeef.lat in<br />
September as a 100% Spanish resource, to empower<br />
and engage consumers and partners looking to<br />
connect with the brand.<br />
“It’s about being an experience,” shares Charbine.<br />
“Whether it’s a Latin or a Japanese experience, we<br />
want to be a part of it to help elevate the experience<br />
with flavor, tenderness and juiciness.”<br />
Recipes that are region specific, tools to learn beef<br />
cuts and cooking methods, where to buy beef and<br />
educational materials are resources that land on the<br />
new website.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 21
Translation + Creation<br />
Transcreation is changing text to make its meaning<br />
culturally appropriate for a target market.<br />
The bulk of the international beef tonnage goes<br />
to Asia, Canada or Mexico. Today, the Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand logo has been transcreated<br />
from English to French for the Quebec province in<br />
Canada, Japanese with phonetic translation, and<br />
Simplified Mandarin for mainland China.<br />
“Transcreating our brand name and logo allows us<br />
to connect with consumers,” Charbine says. “Not<br />
one shoe size fits all and we have to be open to not<br />
only translating but creating a logo and marketing<br />
that fits their lifestyle.”<br />
Tuning In<br />
It was 6 a.m. in Ohio but 7 p.m. in Japan.<br />
Instagram was live with a chef partner, Fumio<br />
Yonezawa and influencer Kumkio Obinata took<br />
to the social channel to draw local customers to<br />
purchase Certified Angus Beef ® and cook with them<br />
from home.<br />
This wasn’t the only social interaction across the<br />
ocean. Partners in Taiwan, Asia, the Middle East and<br />
Latin America all took to Instagram to connect with<br />
their customers and the brand.<br />
“Our Latin America partners elevated the<br />
social connections through the pandemic,”<br />
says Charbine.<br />
A highlight for him was the first Spanish Instagram<br />
live with Alejandro Guiterrez, president of Sociedad<br />
Mexicana De Parrilleros. The virtual field trip went<br />
to a local HEB to pick out Certified Angus Beef ®<br />
product with the help of meat scientists from the<br />
brand to help answer questions.<br />
“We’ve seen a great shift into buying online with<br />
people being quarantined around the globe and<br />
countries shutting down,” shares Charbine. “The<br />
only thing that kept consumers connected was the<br />
web. Their shopping habits moved there too. This<br />
was an opportunity for the brand and our team to<br />
come and look at it holistically and say, ‘How can<br />
we elevate our digital approach?’”<br />
Business Evolves<br />
Adversity shines through challenging times.<br />
International partners embrace the business shift<br />
with open minds and creative hands.<br />
“It’s not about the pounds. It’s about seeing how<br />
our partners responded,” says Cody Jones, vice<br />
president of international for the brand. “The<br />
challenges we faced reminded us we work with the<br />
best global partners.”<br />
With a bit of tenacity and ingenuity, international<br />
partners embraced ecommerce and direct delivery<br />
to consumers, meal kits and connecting virtually.<br />
“It seemed as though the tougher things got, the<br />
more determined our partners became,” says Jones.<br />
Today, the wheels are turning again. The virtual<br />
world provides extra opportunities for partners<br />
around the world to interact with the brand.<br />
“While we can’t wait until we can hop on a plane<br />
and visit each other, virtual trainings have given<br />
our partners an opportunity to experience the<br />
brand without a 15-24 hour plane ride,” shares<br />
Jones. “It’s been extremely powerful.”<br />
Thanks to translators and Zoom features, the<br />
virtual experience can be made extra special with<br />
the instant translation that can happen for any<br />
partner, regardless of the language.<br />
With a little tenacity, it’s possible to thrive and<br />
connect. All it takes is a bit of ingenuity.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 23
REWARDING LOYALTY<br />
You don’t have to look far to find Certified Angus Beef ®<br />
loyalists around the globe. Their enthusiasm deserves<br />
extra perks.<br />
That’s why the Steakholder Rewards brand loyalty<br />
program launched in February to connect consumers<br />
and their beef purchases, rewarding social media<br />
engagement and feedback to the brand. Its points for<br />
extras beyond great-tasting beef that can be redeemed<br />
for branded merchandise like steak knives and grilling<br />
tools or sweepstakes for unique culinary experiences.<br />
“This is a way for us to engage on a deeper level with<br />
our consumer, and learn more about our biggest brand<br />
fans,” says Christy Johnson, vice president of branding.<br />
THE BEST REWARDS FOR<br />
THE BEST ANGUS BRAND.<br />
More than 1,500 members joined the rewards<br />
program in the eight months since it began. Currently<br />
it’s available in the U.S. and Canada, the latter<br />
accounting for 6% of membership.<br />
Advertising for the program began in August <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
spurring exponential growth in the final months of the<br />
fiscal year.<br />
“We are excited to see where this program goes and<br />
grows,” Johnson says.<br />
Many independent retailers took notice, promoting the<br />
loyalty program as if it was their own.<br />
“Steakholder Rewards is an avenue for a special<br />
connection and positive experience with our brand,”<br />
says Megan Besancon, associate manager of consumer<br />
loyalty and advertising. “It gives consumers another<br />
reason for our beef to be a part of their lifestyle and<br />
culinary aspirations.”<br />
Monthly communications with Steakholders include<br />
new recipes, the story behind the beef and tips for<br />
cooking to perfection.<br />
Uploading a receipt is the fastest and easiest way to<br />
earn points. Members also earn points for completing<br />
activities in the Roast Perfect app, like using the timer<br />
or completing the Roasting Quiz.<br />
Engagement generates value, too. Members who<br />
complete a survey including their favorite cut and<br />
degree of doneness earn extra.<br />
Let’s just say our loyalists love a ribeye, medium rare.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 25
AWARDING<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
RANCHING<br />
A new era of regenerative thinking<br />
makes the Certified Angus Beef ® brand<br />
even better.<br />
The way the water flows through the pasture is strategically designed.<br />
Tight, barbed-wire fences are precisely kept. Bee boxes feel as ordinary as<br />
the pine trees, home for insects that pollinate the ranch. A hawk leaves<br />
the sky landing gently on its perch, placed there decisively, long before he<br />
thought to rest his wings.<br />
Nothing is done without specific purpose at Wilson Cattle Company.<br />
Each generation adds their mark, compounding to make what began as<br />
a homestead, better.<br />
It’s a philosophy: one plus one should always equal more than two.<br />
Cattle, of course, are a critical part of the equation, but people, they are<br />
the multipliers.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 27
The Ranch<br />
He looks a little more East Coast than his western<br />
cowboy genes. The sixth generation to manage<br />
the land, Zach Wilson is a modern cattleman. As<br />
comfortable behind a computer screen as in the<br />
pasture, he leads a natural resource-first ranch,<br />
using science as his guide. Like his ancestors,<br />
he’s on a mission to amplify his resources and<br />
make things better.<br />
“If it’s good for the little bugs in the soil, or the<br />
migratory birds or larger mammals like elk or deer,<br />
even rodents, it’s going to be good for the cattle,”<br />
he says.<br />
It’s a high road that takes discipline.<br />
“Our job is to work with Mother Nature,” he says.<br />
“She knows best. We try to figure out the best<br />
incentives for what is going to help her be her<br />
most productive self.”<br />
Riparian barriers, waterfowl habitat and soil<br />
microbiology aren’t just feel-good projects.<br />
They are strategic investments to raise better beef,<br />
more efficiently.<br />
He points to an elevated bird box, “Some goose<br />
pair has probably been coming here for 15 years,<br />
raising their goslings and then moving on.”<br />
Their droppings fertilize the soil. He sees each<br />
detail as a part of the greater system and the right<br />
investment can have compounding benefits. His<br />
job is steward of it all.<br />
“It means a lot to me to take care of the land. Six<br />
generations on this land means a lot of people<br />
have put a lot of sweat equity into it and I want<br />
to make sure that I’m treating it the way it should<br />
be treated,” says Wilson. “Feeding the world with<br />
what we do, I take that to heart.”<br />
This philosophy extends to Beef Northwest where<br />
the cattle that leave his ranch are fed.<br />
The two entities are halves of the same family business.<br />
Wilson’s cattle harvest the grass in Baker Valley,<br />
Oregon, while Beef Northwest, started by the fifth<br />
generation of the Wilson family, expands the enterprise<br />
feeding cattle throughout the Pacific Northwest.<br />
It’s a symbiotic relationship, both dependent on<br />
each other.<br />
The Feedyard<br />
Eastern Oregon isn’t known for cattle feeding. Far<br />
from the cornbelt and Midwestern plains, feeding<br />
cattle here allows them to harness the resource the<br />
landscape does offer: potatoes.<br />
“We’re trying to make high-quality beef that’s<br />
wholesome,” says Pete Szasz, feedyard manager.<br />
“You don’t do that without quality ingredients, no<br />
matter how hard you try.”<br />
The feedyard sits just down the freeway from french<br />
fry factories. The highly nutritious carbohydrate<br />
is palatable and provides energy, so leftover tater<br />
tots, fries and jojos become an ingredient in highquality<br />
cattle feed.<br />
“If we weren’t here to utilize the potatoes, they would<br />
end up in a landfill,” Szasz explains. “That’s where they<br />
were going prior to us being in the area.”<br />
It’s a business that’s less transactional, more relational<br />
built on motivating people to do the right thing.<br />
“I believe the quality of the beef that comes out<br />
of Beef Northwest is directly related to the quality<br />
of the people,” says Wes Killion, chief operating<br />
officer. “It’s a window into the company that goes<br />
with every aspect, be it environmental stewardship,<br />
animal health, animal performance or consumer<br />
eating experience.”<br />
Riders trot with purpose through the cattle on<br />
horseback, communicating via mailboxes at the<br />
end of the pen rows. Their path is mapped<br />
using GPS and drone technology for precise<br />
nutrient management and a responsible water<br />
run-off strategy. Each animal they check has<br />
electronic identification in its ear, the feed<br />
quality control tested.<br />
Growing and equipping leaders through their<br />
internship program is key to sustaining the culture<br />
of cowboys and cutting-edge technology — a<br />
commitment to excellence in every chore.<br />
Sustainable Beef<br />
This dedication earned the sister organizations<br />
the first-ever Certified Angus Beef ® Sustainability<br />
Commitment to Excellence Award.<br />
“The more we can take care of the environment,<br />
the better opportunity there is for a better outcome<br />
for the cattle, be it health or performance as well<br />
as quality,” Killion says.<br />
Like most Angus ranches, Beef Northwest was<br />
focused on sustainability way before it was cool.<br />
“Anytime you cut into a steak, that animal took<br />
something from this ground and is now nourishing<br />
you, but it also put a lot back into the ground<br />
while it was here,” says Wilson. “Everything’s<br />
connected, it’s all a system.”<br />
The new award is one piece of the brand’s bigger<br />
commitment to sustainability. As an active<br />
member of the U.S. and Canadian Roundtables<br />
for Sustainable Beef, the brand works to continue<br />
progress. While cattlemen do their part on the<br />
ranch and feedyard, the brand invests in action<br />
across the industry supporting a better beef system.<br />
Because sustainability isn’t just about the end product,<br />
the ranch or the feedyard — it’s everyone in between.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 29
INVESTING IN OTHERS<br />
Hurricanes, floods, fires and blizzards.<br />
Working with Mother Nature is a chore in<br />
the best of times. For farmers and ranchers<br />
who find themselves in the aftermath of<br />
a natural disaster, the devastation of a<br />
lifetime’s work is overwhelming.<br />
Lee Crock, Angus cattleman from<br />
Mechanicsville, Iowa, experienced that<br />
after a derecho storm (land hurricane)<br />
in August.<br />
“I got a call from my daughter and she said,<br />
‘Dad you need to come home… there’s<br />
been a lot of damage to our farm.’ I pulled<br />
in and hardly recognized the place,”<br />
he said.<br />
In 10 minutes, their farm suffered nearly a<br />
million dollars in damage.<br />
When wildfire season hit, ranchers across<br />
the West felt his pain too.<br />
In Washington, Dale Smith raises Angus<br />
cattle on the same ground his family has<br />
ranched for more than a century. Wildfires<br />
this year took all his pasture, hay and 300<br />
of his cows.<br />
He didn’t lose faith.<br />
“We’re cattlemen, we raise cows,” Smith<br />
said. “It’s what we do and what we will<br />
always do.”<br />
The tenacity of ranchers like these inspired<br />
the Certified Angus Beef ® Rural Relief Fund.<br />
Launched in 2019, the fund helps producers<br />
recover and rebuild after natural disasters.<br />
Donations and sales of Sheltering Generations<br />
— The American Barn coffee table book<br />
produced by the brand raised $20,000.<br />
Funds were used to support farming and<br />
ranching families affected by these two<br />
extreme weather events and build resources to<br />
help others in the future.<br />
To purchase the book or donate visit:<br />
shop.CertifiedAngusBeef.com.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 31
A NEW LEVEL<br />
OF SERVICE<br />
Creativity helps<br />
foodservice persevere.<br />
The hustle and bustle of restaurant kitchens ceased.<br />
Some for a moment. Some are silent still.<br />
Prime Cincinnati Steakhouse<br />
In an instant, the nature of foodservice changed<br />
forever. The effects of the pandemic brought rapid<br />
evolution to every aspect of business.<br />
Nimble restaurants quickly turned to takeout and<br />
delivery only, eventually to limited dine-in. Following<br />
a record February, boxes of beef sat idle. Distributors<br />
acted quickly to adapt.<br />
“Foodservice has never worked so hard to sell such<br />
little product,” says Sara Scott, Certified Angus Beef ® vice<br />
president of foodservice. “Like any time when adversity<br />
strikes, the most creative businesses are the ones that<br />
will endure. It’s going to be a slow grind back, but I<br />
can’t think of any group more innovative and driven<br />
than our partners.”<br />
Signs of innovation, resiliency and hope pull the<br />
community forward.<br />
Seizing Opportunity<br />
The lights are on and diners seated again. The iconic<br />
Prime Cincinnati steakhouse draws people in for Prime<br />
and dry-aged steaks.<br />
“Our Certified Angus Beef ® brand Prime steaks continue<br />
to be the most popular items,” said Nelson Castillo,<br />
managing partner of Prime Cincinnati and Street City Pub.<br />
“We have the filet, New York strip and dry-aged on our<br />
dine-in menu. Our Jack Burger has actually been really<br />
popular because we’ve moved it to our appetizer menu.”<br />
After switching overnight to online only in March, nearly all<br />
business is dine-in today, still at 50% capacity since May.<br />
For returning restaurant goers, taste and food quality<br />
remain the top priority according to <strong>Brand</strong>watch<br />
Consumer Trends <strong>2020</strong> and the Simon-Kucher<br />
Restaurant Survey, ranking above restaurant<br />
cleanliness in today’s marketplace.<br />
“When service and experience change so drastically,<br />
quality becomes an even bigger factor in customer<br />
satisfaction,” says Scott. “Now is not the time to find<br />
cost savings by cutting quality.”<br />
Consumers also sought the brand’s Prime and<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 33
dry-aged cuts for restaurant experiences at home.<br />
Progressive distributors and restaurants looked beyond<br />
middle meats to elevate quality and reached consumers<br />
through new channels.<br />
For decades, Miami Purveyors resisted direct-toconsumer<br />
sales. Now, there was no time to waste.<br />
Restaurants embraced ecommerce, too.<br />
“We had a tenured and committed team to protect,”<br />
says Taly Rosenberg, vice president of finance and<br />
administration. “Our consumers are overwhelmed by<br />
the restaurant-quality products we are delivering so<br />
this has been a valuable expansion for us.”<br />
At the same time, Miami Purveyors adjusted to<br />
restaurateurs’ new in-house pantry sales, fresh meat<br />
sales, meal kits and private chef offerings. When<br />
outdoor dining and 50% capacity opened for dine-in,<br />
consumers wasted no time visiting their favorite spots.<br />
“We are now balancing our direct-to-consumer<br />
business while continuing service to our foodservice<br />
customers as their volume returns to pre-pandemic<br />
levels,” says Rosenberg. “We are very prepared to do<br />
both exceptionally well.”<br />
Both avenues allow distributors to diversify sales,<br />
as specialty meat and broadline companies help<br />
restaurateurs maximize takeout and entice consumers<br />
for dine-in.<br />
Cost-Saving Without<br />
Compromise<br />
Inventive solutions guide restaurant recovery,<br />
according to Adrienne Moncrief, director of<br />
foodservice council for Cleveland Research, who<br />
spoke during Annual Conference.<br />
items, like the burgers and cheesesteaks at Wing N<br />
Burger Factory across Georgia.<br />
“The one ingredient is beef. That’s all we need to<br />
say,” according to Robert Bales, vice president and<br />
COO of the PK Restaurant Group. The Philly meat<br />
also offers a higher yield for better portion size and<br />
guest satisfaction.<br />
Serving one cut in multiple applications also adds<br />
efficiency for chefs.<br />
The City Square Steakhouse, Wooster, Ohio,<br />
serves the sirloin for a main entrée, kid’s steak,<br />
entrée salad, steak and fries, and occasional pasta<br />
dish. Oak Steakhouses, from Atlanta to D.C.,<br />
merchandise the entire tenderloin as center-cut<br />
filet, on the mixed grill plate, smaller bistro steaks,<br />
steak frites, steak tartare, carpaccio, Bolognese<br />
and burger grinds.<br />
“Restaurateurs and distributors are working hard<br />
to outpace recovery, and are doing it with the<br />
best beef,” Scott says. “Foodservice people are<br />
committed to a love for food, feeding people and<br />
bringing them together.”<br />
Eating out is a part of American culture that hasn’t<br />
changed. It’s just delivered differently.<br />
VALUE-ADDED<br />
PRODUCTS<br />
“They want simplicity in execution, operations, service<br />
speed and efficiency, and a good way of doing that is<br />
value-added products,” Moncrief says.<br />
For dine-in, takeout and delivery, value-added<br />
smoked brisket, fajita meat, cooked pot roast,<br />
cooked short ribs and shaved steak save time and<br />
labor, so restaurateurs can focus on profit centers,<br />
signature dishes and guest experience.<br />
A new cost calculator in the <strong>Brand</strong> Builder app<br />
aligns dollars and sense with choosing the most<br />
profitable items, whether fresh or value-added.<br />
Restaurants also build their concepts around the<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 35
YOU’RE ON MUTE<br />
Virtual experiences for marketing<br />
training reimagined.<br />
It’s personal. Adapting, engaging and intuitive, it’s gone digital. Handson<br />
experiences and handshakes evolved into live Q&A and the wave of<br />
hands across Zoom screens from home offices.<br />
Relationships deepen, communication expands to reach more, more<br />
frequently. Turnkey resources for an evolving marketplace in motion.<br />
Networks of like-minded individuals, sounding boards of experts and<br />
trusted professionals collaborate to spark creativity and ingenuity when<br />
challenge strikes.<br />
Meeting people where they are with what they need — that’s modern<br />
marketing for the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.<br />
Hosting groups in the brand’s Culinary Center is nothing new. The<br />
tangible knowledge folks walk out with after their time in the Meat Lab<br />
and kitchen are more than bright and shiny — it’s an experience unlike<br />
any other.<br />
Bringing together partners from around the globe, the brand hosted 58<br />
events in the first six months of the fiscal year, prior to changes brought<br />
on by COVID-19.<br />
“This is a great moment of virtual<br />
engagement. I’m impressed, but not<br />
surprised. You and your team always<br />
do a great job in these trainings.<br />
Shouldn’t be surprised you guys<br />
would nail it in the virtual world.”<br />
— Joel Walker, USFS Denver Launch<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 37
Virtually Best in Class<br />
Many things can’t be delivered through a computer<br />
screen. It’s impossible to replace the touch, taste and<br />
feel of a brand event in person. But you don’t know<br />
how close you can come if you never try.<br />
Creating a virtual Culinary Center experience has been<br />
an idea for some time. The current situation made it a<br />
top priority.<br />
The online format means new experiences for those<br />
who’ve never made the trek to Wooster, Ohio’s beef<br />
hub. Online trainings, “Live from the Culinary Center”<br />
and large-scale events are all part of how the brand<br />
learned to connect through a screen.<br />
What was planned as a 10-day affair in Wooster<br />
evolved into a “Live from the Culinary Center” event<br />
for more than 400 Giant Eagle retail staff in just a few<br />
hours one afternoon in September.<br />
Meat scientists Daniel and Diana Clark fabricated beef<br />
in front of the camera. Mandy and Aaron Atterholt<br />
gave a pasture tour on their farm with live Q&A, while<br />
the account manager helped moderate, standing by<br />
for account-specific questions.<br />
It’s an experience replicated for groups large and small.<br />
“There are positives to find in the change around us,”<br />
says brand president John Stika. “And I believe the<br />
‘Live from the Culinary Center’ trainings will be an<br />
incredible asset for all of us moving forward.”<br />
The brand also hosted Annual Conference virtually for<br />
the first time, with a record attendance of more than<br />
1,100 active online for the two-day event.<br />
“This virtual training was<br />
praised by our field leadership for<br />
succinctly covering key aspects<br />
while still bringing the same level<br />
of excitement and passion to our<br />
associates that we would expect<br />
from a face-to-face event.”<br />
— Crystal Ackerman, Senior Director, Meat<br />
& Seafood, Southeastern Grocers, Inc.<br />
Turnkey training modules were created as part of the<br />
virtual resource hub. The team launched “Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand University: Retail” in August to help<br />
those at the meat counter answer questions about<br />
the brand and the beef in their case. The goal is to be<br />
engaging, authentic and real without the background<br />
noise and mute button hiccups.<br />
“We aren’t just another Zoom call,” says Deanna<br />
Walenciak, vice president of brand marketing. “We<br />
invested in new equipment and technology to better<br />
serve our partners and meet their needs, virtually.”<br />
They’ve yet to discover how to deliver the flavors via<br />
a screen, but in the meantime partners can expect a<br />
virtual experience just as high quality.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 39
RETAIL’S RISE<br />
With consumer attention on<br />
the meat case, retailers elevate<br />
the experience.<br />
What’s for dinner tonight?<br />
The daily query prompted fresh answers this year. As<br />
options waned, grocery stores stepped up to deliver.<br />
People craved beef. Since this spring, they came to enjoy<br />
it more and more in their own home-cooked meals.<br />
That led to 602 million pounds of Certified Angus<br />
Beef ® cuts sold at meat counters this year, a 12%<br />
annual increase. Favored steaks when dining<br />
out — ribeye, strip, tenderloin and top sirloin —<br />
increased 14%, closely matched in rising popularity<br />
by ground beef.<br />
Signs of innovation, resiliency and hope pull the<br />
community forward.<br />
Timing Prime<br />
Flavor still reigns supreme, carving out opportunity<br />
for luxury beef. Weis Markets introduced Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand Prime for summer grilling in 200<br />
Northeastern stores.<br />
“More customers want high-end, restaurant-quality beef<br />
than ever before,” said Weis Markets Director of Meat,<br />
Doug Becker. “We patiently waited for the right time and<br />
it has been very well received.”<br />
He anticipates Certified Angus Beef ® brand Prime<br />
demand growing in the coming months, right into<br />
summer 2021.<br />
“Customers know the product is special as soon as they<br />
walk in the store and arrive at the meat case,” said David<br />
O’Diam, Certified Angus Beef ® vice president of retail.<br />
Marinated steaks, case-ready burgers, heat-and-serve<br />
entrées and corned beef offer variety and convenience<br />
for home-cooked meals. QFC stores, based in Seattle,<br />
added case-ready ground chuck and sirloin Giant<br />
Eagle, based in Pittsburgh, offered beef bacon. Weis<br />
Markets also captured customer interest in simple<br />
meals with shaved steak from Bertolino Foods.<br />
“We knew that would be another opportunity to sell<br />
customers a superior product,” Becker said. “Any time<br />
we can expand our offerings to shout the Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand, we take advantage of it. It’s a<br />
great item in our fresh beef offerings.”<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 41
Ground beef, the largest retail beef category, gives<br />
shoppers more quality and versatility. Case-ready<br />
ground beef, patties, bricks and steaks reduce shrink<br />
and out-of-stocks. They help retailers manage labor<br />
and keep the case stocked late in the day, while<br />
offering leak-resistant and freezer-ready packages.<br />
Consumers also leaned into comfort foods more this<br />
year and learned about roasting and slow cooking<br />
from the brand’s Roast Perfect app.<br />
Convenient Ways to Learn<br />
“Retailers offering the brand have an edge,”<br />
O’Diam said. “If you can’t dine out for a great<br />
meal, you can have it at home.”<br />
The necessity of DIY fine-dining meant consumers<br />
searched for online tools to develop new skills.<br />
Recipes, social videos and digital tools helped<br />
them conquer the kitchen to create and serve<br />
restaurant-quality, beefy meals.<br />
Similar resources are essential as retailers finetuned<br />
their ecommerce sites for curbside pickup<br />
and delivery. Consumer confidence in online meat<br />
purchases continues to grow.<br />
“What we now have is a consumer that is very<br />
comfortable and a lot more confident in the<br />
kitchen, and this is a great way to engage them,”<br />
said IRI’s senior vice president of protein, Chris<br />
Dubois, during Annual Conference. “The more you<br />
can talk about quality, share ideas and integrate<br />
with the shopping, experience will continue to drive<br />
sales and keep beef at the top of the list.”<br />
Continuing Education<br />
Shoppers often seek tips and advice from meat staff.<br />
The ability to offer solutions and engaging experiences<br />
sets businesses apart, in store and online.<br />
The brand new Retail Certified Angus Beef ®<br />
University, launched in September, offers easy tips<br />
for meat staff to gain confidence for talking about<br />
beef quality, nutrition and beef preparation.<br />
The 20-minute training can be included in a<br />
retailer’s training platform for added ease, including a<br />
short video for all store associates.<br />
Training proved insightful for Southeastern Grocers,<br />
which launched the brand across 421 Winn Dixie,<br />
Harvey’s and Fresco y Mas stores from October 2019<br />
into summer. Winn Dixie leaders and store managers<br />
attended on-farm training in October, helping them<br />
understand the brand’s quality mission and the family<br />
farmers and ranchers it supports.<br />
Known in the market as “the experts in beef since<br />
1925,” Winn Dixie trainings continued throughout the<br />
year into spring. That’s when online sessions reached<br />
more than 650 associates, in English and Spanish,<br />
helping them introduce the brand’s fresh and Prime<br />
cuts, marinated meats, corned beef and other caseready<br />
items to customers.<br />
In fall 2019 more than 100 Giant Eagle meat<br />
managers attended a two-day training at the brand’s<br />
Culinary Center. Hands-on fabrication and cooking<br />
prepared them for an experience to discuss with<br />
customers at the meat case. The group followed up<br />
with online education this September. A Culinary<br />
Center Live session focused on deepening beef<br />
knowledge, including a virtual pasture walk at<br />
Atterholt Farms.<br />
“The feedback that I have received was outstanding,”<br />
shared Joe Seibel, Giant Eagle’s meat merchandising<br />
manager. “They were amazed that the time went by<br />
so quickly and were glued to their computer screens.<br />
With continued follow-up and in-store training, I am<br />
confident we will grow the brand together.”<br />
Retailers continue to transform, creating an experience<br />
both in person and online that feels personal.<br />
We know what will happen the next time someone<br />
asks, “What’s for dinner?” brand retailers will readily<br />
answer with the right tools to make it easy, and the<br />
best beef to make it memorable.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 43
BEEF INSPIRED<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® chefs imagine beef<br />
like never before with their favorite <strong>2020</strong><br />
kitchen creations.<br />
It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time when the Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® brand didn’t employ chefs.<br />
These kitchen magicians always held the keys to consumer delights<br />
and many worked closely with the brand, but until 2006 they cooked<br />
and created exclusively as partners in restaurants around the world.<br />
Then some of the creative fire started burning in Wooster, Ohio.<br />
Today, the collective culinary talents of six chefs please the palates of<br />
those lucky enough to feast on their brand creations. Their innovation<br />
with lesser known cuts and sessions with partner chefs have added<br />
untold value to the beef carcass.<br />
In a year that required creativity, chefs at the Certified Angus Beef ®<br />
brand brought to fire and plate many concepts that previously<br />
lived only in their minds.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 457
CHEF TONY BIGGS<br />
CHEF MICHAEL OLLIER<br />
Chef Tony’s culinary experience spans the globe,<br />
from a singing waiter in Upstate New York to<br />
Japan’s famed Tokyo American Club, to Imelda<br />
Marcos’ kitchen and cooking for royalty in the<br />
Middle East. Those stops feature prominently in<br />
some of Chef Tony’s preferred dishes. His burger<br />
sushi — “Burgushi” — and Korean meatloaf blend<br />
two cultures that have weighed heavily into Biggs’<br />
resume: Asian and old-school Americana. Burgushi<br />
is a play on the cheeseburger, with ground beef<br />
and sushi rice wrapped inside crispy potato strings<br />
and topped with mustard, ketchup and mayo. The<br />
Korean version of an American staple is smoked<br />
and constructed with Certified Angus Beef ® brand<br />
Prime grinds, the dish is laden with gochujang and<br />
accompanied by kohlrabi crepes, curly potatoes<br />
and leek sushi.<br />
Ollier has the longest tenure with the chef team.<br />
The French-trained chef has a penchant for<br />
creating dishes both pleasing and approachable<br />
to home cooks everywhere, while stepping out<br />
of the box from time to time. Chef Michael kept<br />
one foot in the trends while staying relevant<br />
to home cooks with two of his favorite dishes<br />
from <strong>2020</strong>. The chef paid homage to Canadian<br />
bacon, dry-roasting lean eye of round as a<br />
bacon substitute to live on a sandwich or next<br />
to Eggs Benedict. Ollier used top round sliced<br />
with the grain and kissed with soy sauce,<br />
Worcestershire, red and black pepper, garlic<br />
and brown sugar to make classic beef jerky.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 47
CHEF ASHLEY BRENEMAN<br />
CHEF PETER ROSENBERG<br />
Chef Ashley cut her teeth in one of the most<br />
famous kitchens in Los Angeles alongside<br />
culinary icon Nancy Silverton, and now runs the<br />
kitchen at the brand’s Culinary Center. An eye<br />
for precision with a Millennial edge, Breneman<br />
keeps tabs on what’s hip and trendy in the food<br />
world and marries it with unique cuts of beef<br />
for her guests. Chef Ashley went out of the box<br />
with her classic steak tartare, using traditional<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® tenderloin for the raw beef<br />
content, placing it atop a sous vide leek, and<br />
finishing it with crème fraiche and fresh fish roe.<br />
Breneman made pasta from kohlrabi stuffed<br />
with short rib and saffron cream sauce, topped<br />
with a toasted bread crumble.<br />
A native of what is now Zimbabwe, Chef Peter<br />
Rosenberg’s journey has taken him through some<br />
of the best-known dining rooms in Memphis<br />
and Dallas. Rosenberg’s time in Texas is everpresent<br />
in his food, which often includes highend<br />
interpretations of barbecue and smoked<br />
meats. Chef Peter is a huge fan of the coulotte,<br />
which he utilized in the form of a traditional<br />
California tri-tip barbecue: Santa Maria-rubbed,<br />
lightly smoked, roasted and served next to crispy<br />
tobacco onions with scored mango garnish, and<br />
finished with his sassy habanero mango sauce.<br />
Rosenberg notches up old-school corn chowder<br />
with braised short rib and thinly sliced blue corn<br />
tortillas with a lime crema.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 49
CHEF BRAD PARKER<br />
CHEF GAVIN PINTO<br />
Inspired by his grandmother and trained under<br />
the late Certified Master Chef Peter Timmins,<br />
Chef Brad Parker is a jack of all trades in the<br />
kitchen. The East Coast native relies on his<br />
artistic intuition and appreciation for quality<br />
ingredients to create dishes that are a feast<br />
for all the senses. Chef Brad did his Asian<br />
interpretation of a French staple with his beef<br />
bouillabaisse, reimagining a traditional fish dish<br />
with lotus root and an Asian mirepoix, finished<br />
with spicy lap chong and ginger with soy sauce<br />
meatballs. He also went with a modern touch<br />
on his miso beef bites, made from teres major<br />
and accompanied by an avocado smash and<br />
kani salad.<br />
By day, Chef Pinto oversees the brand’s Test<br />
Kitchen, developing recipes and sharing cooking<br />
tips with consumers and home cooks. When<br />
he’s not crafting new ways to consume beef<br />
from the Instant Pot or creating minimalist<br />
ingredient recipes, he’s bending the minds of<br />
coworkers with his fondness for molds and<br />
molecular gastronomy. Chef Gavin went classic<br />
and elegant with his traditional Beef Wellington,<br />
made with tenderloin and mushroom duxelle,<br />
but adorned with a pastry latticework for an<br />
extra layer of crisp and beauty. Another favorite<br />
creation this year was the twist he gave to steak<br />
and eggs on toast: reverse seared teres major<br />
sits on a base of toasted artisinal sourdough<br />
with clotted cream and red trout roe, topped<br />
with microgreens.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 51
FUNDING THE<br />
FUTURE<br />
Philanthropy grows<br />
young leaders.<br />
Goal-getters and difference makers, innovators and<br />
change curators — today’s students are tomorrow’s<br />
leaders. Supporting these creative and intelligent young<br />
people, the <strong>2020</strong> Colvin Scholarship Fund awarded<br />
$42,000 to 10 who are pursuing degrees in animal and<br />
meat sciences across the country.<br />
Honoring the Certified Angus Beef ® brand co-founder<br />
and executive director of 22 years, Louis “Mick”<br />
Colvin, the Fund supported 86 recipients and awarded<br />
$200,000 to date. Since 1999, the scholarship has<br />
carried on Colvin’s legacy of making dreams a reality<br />
and inspiring others to do their best.<br />
Conner McKinzie, a senior at Texas Tech University<br />
studying animal sciences, says he’s humbled and<br />
grateful to be a <strong>2020</strong> award recipient. Passionate<br />
about food waste and food insecurity, he plans to<br />
pursue a graduate degree in meat science, while also<br />
serving as a coach for the school’s meat judging team.<br />
Embodying a service mindset, his goal is “To make our<br />
world a more efficient and food-secure place to live.”<br />
Applicants were asked to outline a proposal to<br />
distinguish the Certified Angus Beef ® brand from the 90<br />
other USDA-certified programs that use “Angus” labels<br />
in marketing.<br />
McKinzie proposed a “relatable” approach to<br />
differentiate: deploy unique packaging to help tell the<br />
story of who the brand’s producers are and how their<br />
cattle live.<br />
“Never before has there been a generation more in<br />
touch with their emotions and socially ‘awakened’<br />
than there is today,” he wrote. “People want to know<br />
what they’re buying, where they’re buying it from, who<br />
raised it and what was it given in its lifetime.”<br />
The Certified Angus Beef ® Colvin Golf Classic and<br />
auction funds the scholarship program, with<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® partners raising more than<br />
$91,000 just last year, supporting the future of<br />
students pursuing lifelong careers in agriculture.<br />
“This year’s recipients demonstrated a level of<br />
engagement, understanding and leadership in the<br />
industry rare among many young people who have<br />
already entered the industry,” says John Stika, Certified<br />
Angus Beef ® president. “Their list of activities and plans<br />
for the future instilled a great deal of confidence that<br />
they will make a positive impact on the beef business<br />
moving forward.”<br />
Conner McKinzie<br />
<strong>2020</strong> Colvin Scholarship Fund Recipient<br />
Texas Tech University, Stephenville, Texas<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 53
Dishing Out Opportunities<br />
Investments in the next generation of culinary<br />
creatives supports students pursuing careers focused<br />
on the plate.<br />
Each year, the brand hosts endowed and expandable<br />
scholarships with both The Culinary Institute of America<br />
(CIA) and Johnson & Wales University. The pledges are<br />
reserved for culinary students and each school allocates<br />
the variable sum based on financial need.<br />
To qualify, students write essays showcasing their<br />
need for assistance, interest in culinary arts and<br />
beef. Each told a story connecting their personal<br />
experiences to their passion for creating special<br />
moments around food.<br />
“Beef has been the centerpiece to many of my childhood<br />
memories,” shared recipient Madison Giacherio.<br />
Matthew Blankenship, another scholarship recipient<br />
shared in his essay, “There are many reasons why<br />
Chef Peter and Tony cook with Culinary<br />
Institute of America students.<br />
I have so much respect for this company — their<br />
commitment to family and their commitment<br />
to quality. It’s why we use their steaks on my<br />
grandparent’s 50th anniversary and their beef in my<br />
mother’s stew on a cold winter day. This company is<br />
always bettering itself, and I will always do the same.”<br />
Beef education extends to the classroom where brand<br />
team members collaborate with teachers on meat<br />
science and butchery curriculum.<br />
Connecting with students for beef education adds<br />
another layer of mentorship. <strong>Brand</strong> chefs Tony Biggs<br />
and Peter Rosenberg returned to their alma mater, CIA<br />
— Hyde Park, to cook for 800 incoming students. More<br />
than serving great beef, the chefs prepped the meal with<br />
six rookies, teaching them their own technique.<br />
“The chef of tomorrow needs to learn so much more<br />
than I ever did,” says Rosenberg. “Investing in these<br />
students today, especially in sharing the importance of<br />
proteins, is going to give us the leaders of tomorrow.”<br />
FEEL GOOD FOOD<br />
Niche markets and natural products make<br />
a divine combination.<br />
Brothers Marketplace meet it’s customers’<br />
demands: fresh, whole foods with<br />
superior quality and consistency. The<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® brand Natural<br />
products are a perfect fit for their<br />
Northeastern customers.<br />
The Boston-area stores focus on creating<br />
a strong visual presence and shopping<br />
experience for their customers. Unique<br />
in-store marketing and sharing their beef’s<br />
background aligns with the mission of the<br />
neighborhood market.<br />
Consistent carcass utilization provides<br />
a steady supply to offer their customers<br />
with a wide variety of natural beef cut<br />
options. From shoulder cuts to tenderloin,<br />
they have it all.<br />
While Certified Angus Beef ® brand Natural<br />
product sales were down 20%, in some<br />
markets, they are the ideal. The Roche<br />
Brothers. branch saw a 136% increase this<br />
year in pounds of product sold.<br />
“For the team at Brothers Marketplace<br />
and Roche Brothers, it’s about the<br />
relationships, with their customers and<br />
their partners, and the quality products<br />
they provide in their stores,” says Jeff<br />
Vinacco, Certified Angus Beef ® executive<br />
account manager.<br />
Consistent relationships serving<br />
a captivated clientele. It just feels natural.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 55
LET’S TALK BEEF<br />
The first season of MeatSpeak,<br />
the Certified Angus Beef ® podcast,<br />
launched in 2019 with beefy content:<br />
30 episodes, 22 guests, and 60% of<br />
the season’s top downloads being<br />
from the 14 meat science episodes.<br />
Meat geeks, farmers and ranchers,<br />
culinary personalities and those in<br />
the restaurant business listen in for<br />
captivating conversations led by<br />
Certified Angus Beef ® team members<br />
and guests.<br />
Listeners leaned in to the science and<br />
butchery, making meat science a topic<br />
of priority for season 2. The next set of<br />
episodes launched on September 30<br />
with the new co-host: meat scientist<br />
Diana Clark. She joins Bryan Schaaf<br />
and Chef Tony Biggs on the podcast’s<br />
meaty escapades.<br />
“Chef Tony brings his culinary<br />
knowledge, Bryan shines as a<br />
storyteller and Diana’s passions for<br />
meat science and education make<br />
this a podcast you don’t want to<br />
miss,” says Paige Clayton, digital<br />
marketing specialist.<br />
They take a deep dive into the what,<br />
why and how about all things beef<br />
on your favorite podcast platform.<br />
Scan the QR code<br />
to listen.<br />
CertifiedAngusBeef.com 57
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand name and marks are<br />
service/trademarks of Certified Angus Beef LLC.<br />
© <strong>2020</strong>, Volume 24 Issue 1, published annually.<br />
All rights reserved. 10/20-21170-2700