Foreign Marketing
18.5%
Given that the beef industry operates in a global marketplace and more than 95 percent of the global
population lives outside of the United States, promotion, research, consumer information and industry
information programs in foreign markets are critical to the future of the beef community. As in domestic
markets, the Beef Checkoff Program’s foreign-marketing efforts include programs in promotion, research
and information, plus market access and development, in more than 80 countries across the globe. Below
are just a couple examples of those programs in fiscal 2015.
‘Rocky Mountain Steak’ Campaign
With a goal of increasing the market share for U.S. beef in South Korea’s retail sector, the checkoff helped
launched the “Rocky Mountain Steak” campaign with E-mart — Korea’s largest retail chain — in fiscal
2015. Tasting promotions were conducted in 10 key E-mart locations, and a three-month sales competition
implemented in all 146 E-mart stores throughout Korea. In conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Steak launch,
the checkoff helped create a series of cooking classes at 29 E-mart cultural centers in the Seoul metropolitan
area.
To generate publicity, 12 of Korea’s most popular food bloggers were invited to report about the classes and
all participants were encouraged to share their experiences through their own blogs and other social-media
outlets. The exposure generated by the promotion attracted new customers and increased U.S. beef’s retail
market share. The sales competition resulted in an 83-percent increase in U.S. beef sales compared to the
same period the previous year!
Results: Growing popularity in the retail sector is one of the factors that has made South Korea a top
performer for U.S. beef in 2015. Through September 2015, exports to Korea were up 9 percent in year-onyear volume, to about 204 million pounds, and up 4 percent in value, to about $613 million.
American Barbecue Delivers U.S. Flavor
To introduce the Japanese foodservice industry to authentic Texas barbecue and increase global demand for
U.S. beef, the checkoff helped support a team of U.S. producers and a Texas pitmaster on a mission to Tokyo
in 2015 to present a barbecue seminar, meet Japanese food importers and participate in events designed to
connect Japanese consumers directly to American farmers and ranchers. About 100 hotel chefs, restaurant
owners, buyers and distributors — along with U.S. packers and Japanese trade representatives — gathered to
learn about barbecue cooking methods and gain i