Prime Time Summer 2018

that Prime and Branded weekly sales averaged just $76 million five years ago). Those dollar values mean Prime and Branded sales are consistently grabbing market share from the bottom-end of the market (i.e., Select). May’s sales results had the categories accounting for better than 25 percent of all boxed beef

revenue. That’s also a new high-water mark. But perhaps most impor- tant, Prime, the very top end of the market, reflects the strong association be- tween quality and demand. Consider that 10 years ago, the industry was selling between 25 and 50 loads of

Continued page 29

THINK OF THEM AS THE ONE-AND-DONE EAR TAGS

first part of May, the boxed beef market witnessed some meaningful new milestones. For example, the total value of Prime and Branded sales surged to establish a new weekly record ($160 mil- lion). Then, just several weeks later, at the end of the month, that record was surpassed with sales of $185 million. Consumers are sending the signal that they desire beef at the high end of the market. As a result, the beef industry is able to clear greater quantities of that product. That’s a trend that doesn’t need to stop here. And from a longer-run perspective, bigger dol- lar values now have the Prime + Branded catego- ries averaging $115 million on a weekly basis. In other words, May’s action was a strong seasonal surge, but it wasn’t just a flash in the pan – that’s been a strong, enduring trend (consider

Photo courtesy of Chisholm Cattle Company. www.chisholmcattle.com

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www.akaushi.com • Summer 2018