If you’re looking for a way to increase your meat department’s bottom line, American Lamb is your answer. 2006 year end data from FreshLook Marketing provides the information you need to see that overall demand for lamb is on the rise at a time when total meat sales are flat. It’s up to you to meet that demand by stocking increased amounts of the right cuts of American Lamb in your case. Check out the data for yourself.

 

The Numbers

 

	Lamb Sales versus Total Meat Sales vs. Year Ago
	$ Sales	LB Sales
Lamb	+ 6.3%	+ 5.7%
Total Meat Category	- 0.5%	+ 1.1%

Source: FreshLook, 52-week dollar and pound sales, period ending 12/31/06.

 

The Details

 

Lamb outperformed all other proteins as well as total meat over the 52-week period ending December 31, 2006. Lamb dollar sales increased by 6.3% and pound sales increased 5.7% on an average price per pound of $4.99, an increase of 0.6%. The total meat category average dollar sales fell -0.5% and pound sales increased 1.1% on an average price per pound decrease of -1.6%.

 

What’s Next?

 

Use this data to your advantage. Putting these numbers to use, you can justify dedicating more space in your meat case to American Lamb. Why American Lamb? When you compare American Lamb to it's imported competition, you'll see the benefits of American Lamb. More importantly, our recent consumer research confirms that your customers prefer American Lamb to its imported competition.

 

Are There Specific Cuts I Should Focus On?

 

Now that you mention it, yes. Start by focusing on the cuts that generate the most sales and are showing the most significant growth within the lamb category:

 

·        Loin Chops Bone-In

·        Leg Roast Bone-In

·        Leg Whole Bone-In

·        Rib Roast Bone-In

·        Ground Lamb

 

According to FreshLook Marketing, Loin Chops Bone-In experienced a 25% increase in pound and an 18% increase in dollar sales in 2006 versus 2005. In fact, Loin Chops Bone-In ranks 3rd (11.2%) in pound sales and 2nd (21.3%) in dollar sales for all lamb cuts.

 

Leg Roast Bone-In experienced a 23% increase in pound and a 13% increase in dollar sales in 2006 versus 2005. Leg Roast Bone-In accounts for 8.4% of total lamb pound sales and 6.5% of total dollar sales. It ranks 5th in pound sales and 6th in dollar sales for all lamb cuts.

 

Leg Whole Bone-In saw an 11% increase in pound and a 5% increase in dollar sales in 2006 versus 2005. This cut is ranked 4th in both pound (11% of total sales) and dollar (8.5%) lamb sales.

 

Rib Roast Bone-In increased 10% in both pound and dollars sales in 2006 versus 2005. It ranked 11th (2.0%) in pound and 7th (5.1%) in dollar lamb sales for the lamb category.

 

Regular Ground Lamb recorded a 10% increase in pound and a 14% increase in dollar sales in 2006 versus 2005. When comparing 2006 numbers to those in 2004, pound sales increased 35% and dollar sales increased 54%. Regular Ground Lamb accounts for 2.9% of the pound and 2.5% of the dollar sales for all lamb. Ground Regular Lamb ranks 9th in pound and 10th in dollar sales for all lamb cuts.

 

When evaluating how you merchandise your lamb cuts, you will also need to determine whether you should stock mostly bone-in or boneless cuts in the case. Note in the list of high growth cuts from 2006 that four of the five listed are bone-in cuts. According to 2006 FreshLook data, the average growth in pounds sales for bone-in cuts was 47%, while boneless cut pound sales on averaged decreased by 5% in 2006 versus 2005.

 

The world of economics is all about supply and demand. When it comes to the current outlook for your meat department, consumer demand is on the rise for lamb. If you increase your supply to meet that demand, specifically your supply of the above cuts of American Lamb, your bottom line will reap the economic reward.