Retail red meat experienced a substantial sales boost in 2020 as consumers turned to home cooking during the pandemic. Maintaining that momentum in coming years, however, will be a challenge as consumers continue to weigh health concerns and increasingly take ethical and environmental considerations into account as well. Still, red meat remains a dietary staple for most Americans, and the category possesses considerable assets, including great taste and extensive variety. Continued growth will require marketers and retailers to accentuate these positives and mitigate the negatives.

• The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and the red meat market

• Red meat use occasions

• Interest in value-added red meat concepts

• Attitudes toward red meat concerning health, the environment and animal welfare

This Report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Packaged Red Meat – US, March 2019; Packaged Red Meat – US, February 2017; Packaged Red Meat – US, March 2016; Packaged Red Meat – US, February 2015; Red Meat – US, September 2013; and Red Meat – US, October 2012. The Report covers retail sales of beef, pork and lamb in all forms, including ready-to-eat and heat-and-eat.

The following types of red meat are included:

• Beef – including ground beef, steaks, roasts and other cuts of beef

• Pork – pork chops, pork cutlets and other cuts

• Other red meat – lamb, mutton, goat, bison, venison and other game meats.

This Report does not cover meats in sausage or hot dog forms, nor does it include deli or lunch meats.

The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the US in January 2020. It was declared a global health pandemic and national emergency in early March 2020. Across the US, various stay-at-home orders were put in place in Spring 2020, and nonessential businesses and school districts closed or shifted to remote operations. The remainder of 2020 saw rolling orders, as states and local governments relaxed and reinforced guidelines according to the spread of the virus in each region.

Vaccine roll-out began in December 2020. Mintel anticipates business operations in the US will remain in a state of flux through 2021 as vaccines are widely administered and social distancing restrictions and capacity limitations are relaxed.

Mintel bases its expectations for economic growth on projections provided by the CBO, the FOMC, the Conference Board and other public sources. Consensus estimates forecast US GDP to increase by 6.5% in 2021. Unemployment has been forecast to decline to as low as 4.1% by the end of 2021, with an average of 5.7% for the year.