AHDB’s Cheeky campaign sees sizzling summer sales for thin cut steaks

The first wave of AHDB’s Cheeky Beef campaign has brought an additional £1.2 million of retail sales to the thin cut steaks category, according to Kantar Worldpanel’s Consumer Mix Model.

The humorous campaign, aimed at couples aged 25 to 44 years old, promotes thin cut steaks as a quick, easy and versatile midweek meal.

Thin cut steaks were specifically chosen as they provided an industry solution to a carcase balance issue, as they utilise cuts that are in surplus during the summer months.

Recipes and images featuring saucy slogans such as “Fancy a midweek quickie?” were rolled out across national newspapers, billboards near to supermarkets and social media over an 11-week period from late May last year.

Retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-op and Aldi supported the campaign with on-pack stickers, tear off recipes in chillers, adverts in their in-store magazines and recipe booklets at butchery counters, alongside digital activity.

Further analysis in Kantar Worldpanel’s Consumer Mix Model picked out that 62 per cent of UK households were reached by the campaign, an average of nine times each. Consumer research conducted by Future Thinking also reported a ten per cent rise in claimed mid-week consumption of thin cut steaks.

New buyers accounted for 37 per cent of the additional spend, adding 106,000 new households to the category.

Thin cut steak sales increased by more than 49 per cent in volume terms in the 12 weeks in and around the campaign period and total beef benefited from a £1.6 million halo effect in retail sales.  

Gareth Renowden, AHDB Senior Marketing Manager for beef and lamb, said: “This is an excellent start to the campaign, with the cheeky messaging and enticing imagery resonating with our target audience and placing thin cut steaks on their midweek dinner plates.

“The humour of the campaign belies a strategic effort to slow the ongoing decline in beef consumption by changing perceptions of its place in the diet and repositioning it as quick, versatile and easy to cook.

“We’ve focused on thin cut steaks to offer consumers a beef product that fits their busy, health-conscious lifestyles, while addressing the crucial carcase balance issue for industry.”

To further raise awareness with shoppers, thin cut steaks will be promoted during Great British Beef Week, organised by Ladies in Beef, which runs from 1 April until 7 April.

Visit CheekyBeef.com to view a selection of thin cut steak recipes or follow the hashtag #CheekyBeef on social media.