32 | HEREFORD BEEF
Hereford Beef still performing for Waitrose With an additional product added to Waitrose’ No. 1 range, Hereford Beef is doing well for the retailer, reports Dovecote Park. Hereford Beef lines are still performing for Waitrose, says Karen Howarth, category and marketing manager at Dovecote Park. She explains: “Hereford Beef sales continue to perform well in Waitrose, with growth in both value and volume in the latest year driven by steaks and joints. The poor weather during the summer, when compared to 2020, resulted in a disappointing burger performance during those key months.” On the back of the success of Hereford Beef, October 2021 saw the launch of the new Waitrose No. 1 Hereford dry aged steak meatballs, which are a 300g pack containing 12 meatballs. Karen says: “Online reviews from customers are positive with a number of five-star reviews that focus on the delicious taste. This product is a perfect addition to our Waitrose No.1 dry aged Hereford Beef range, enabling shoppers to buy a wide range
of Hereford Beef products from their local Waitrose store.” Looking more widely, demand in retail remained extremely strong in the first half of the year with lockdown restrictions still in place, explains Karen but adds this did start to ease as hospitality venues re-opened and the public began to visit restaurants and bars with family and friends once again. She says: “As the year progressed, different challenges, such as labour shortages and ingredient and packaging lead-times, have impacted all aspects of
the industry. “Shopper habits have also changed during the year, as customers have begun to return to stores to carry out their grocery shopping. Online sales at a total grocery level equate to approximately 13 per cent of all grocery spend, with many shoppers now purchasing larger shops less often. “Within Waitrose, online sales remain strong and we continue to see shoppers buying beef online – particularly mince and steaks,” she explains. Demand for Waitrose Entertaining lines continues to be ahead of prepandemic levels, as many shoppers now realise the wide range of products on offer. While shoppers may be returning to stores, their habits haven’t quite returned to ‘normal’, Karen states. Instead, shoppers are generally visiting stores less often and buying more when they are there. Karen says: “Shoppers are visiting store less frequently, which may be due to shoppers still feeling cautious in busy places and wanting to restrict the number of visits they are making, or perhaps they are now spending more time meeting friends and family rather than shopping for groceries. Whatever the reasons, it’s important that when shoppers visit a Waitrose store, we ensure there are plenty of products for them to choose.”
