How important are named breeds to the consumer? Beef market update

Key points

• Sales of retail products with named beef breeds declined at a faster rate than the total beef market in the past year, likely driven by inflationary pressure causing rationalisation of ranges.
• Angus and Wagyu remain the most widely recognised breeds on pack, with consumers consistently regarding them well.
• These trends are reflected in supply, with Angus(X) cattle the most popular breed within beef supply and significant growth seen in Wagyu(X) cattle over the past few years.

The consumer perspective

Named beef breeds - including Angus, Wagyu, Hereford and Native Breed - accounted for 2.6% of all retail beef sales over the past year, equivalent to 15.7 thousand tonnes¹. This represents a 11.7% year on year decline¹, outpacing the 6.5% fall seen in total beef sales².

Angus remains the largest contributor, representing 1.9% of total beef volumes. However, it has also seen the greatest reduction in SKU listings compared with 2025¹, indicating that the wider challenges beef has experienced due to inflationary pressures over the last year has resulted in rationalisation of ranges.

Wagyu, while still a smaller part of the named breed market at 0.5% of total beef volumes, has grown rapidly - up 50.2% year on year - and has seen an increase in SKU listings¹. Wagyu most often is used for steaks and burgers, where its distinctive fat marbling enhances moisture and flavour.

Consumer awareness of beef breeds varies. Aberdeen Angus remains the most recognised, with 85% of consumers aware of the breed, the highest level in four years³. Wagyu has seen the fastest rise in awareness over the last four years, up 12 percentage points to 75% ³. Among those aware of different breeds, Angus and Wagyu are consistently thought of as appealing³.

Named breed is also used as a way to differentiate and communicate quality credentials. We see this in foodservice, where named breed proteins are used on menus to communicate provenance and elevate dish credentials.

In retail, we see this most notably for primary beef, where named breed descriptors over index within the premium own label tier, accounting for 57.8% of product¹. This suggests that breed descriptors can play an effective role in communicating quality and justifying premium positioning.

Ready meals and added value products are far less likely to specify breed or be premium tier¹, likely because shoppers choose these items for convenience or restaurant style meals, rather than for the specific characteristics associated with a particular breed.

How is this reflected in supplies?

BCMS data allows us to look at breed and type of cattle registered and killed in GB, to see how trends in supplies correspond to those on shelf.

AA/AAX cattle numbers have grown consistently over the past five years, contributing to a growing proportion of total prime kill.

In 2025, 29% of prime aged cattle (12-29months) killed in GB were Aberdeen Angus or Aberdeen Angus X (AA/AAX), making it the most popular breed. Just over half (57%) of these cattle were dairy beef animals, with the remainder suckler bred.

Registrations data shows continuing growth in AA/AAX calves, across both the dairy and suckler herds, indicating this growth in popularity of the breed is likely to continue.

Meanwhile, registrations of Wagyu and Wagyu X (WA/WAX) have grown significantly in the last five years, from 13,500 head in 2021, to peak at 45,500 head in 2024, with declines following in 2025 and into the beginning of 2026.

Despite this boost in registrations in the past five years, WA/WAX cattle made up only 2% of total prime kill in 2025, with 90% of these supplies made up dairy beef animals. According to trends in registrations data, we could expect that wagyu supplies will peak in 2026 before easing back over the following two years.

¹ AHDB analysis of primary, processed, added value, ready meals, main meal accompaniments and other beef, Worldpanel by Numerator retail data, 52 w/e 17 May 2026
² Worldpanel by Numerator, 52 w/e 17 May 2026
³AHDB/YouGov, February 2026

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