Food In Canada

Canada Beef develops app for consumers

Food in Canada   

Food In Canada Meat &Poultry Canada Beef

Canada Beef has made it simple yet fun to find the right cut of beef by developing The Roundup app, available in both official languages

Delicious beef steaks on grill

Although there are three basic cooking categories for steaks (Grilling, Marinating and Simmering Steaks), Canada Beef completed a national survey of beef-buying Canadians and found that over one in two beef shoppers don’t think to consider the “type” of steak they need to buy that works best for the grill. Their purchase decisions are primarily made based on price, as well as the size and shape of the steak.

“Most shoppers make the assumption that all steaks are equal and then use the same cooking method for all,” says Joyce Parslow, professional home economist and Director of Consumer Relations, Canada Beef. “It’s pretty simple but often misunderstood: a steak is not a steak. Simmering Steaks like a Top Blade are amazing when done in the slow cooker where they tenderize nicely, but they are definitely going to be a disappointment if cooked on the grill.”

Canada Beef’s study results showed that shoppers tend to default to familiar cuts when they don’t have a good understanding of cuts, with well over three quarters of beef shoppers reporting they buy the same few cuts over and over. If their ‘go-to cut’ isn’t available, according to a Canada Beef press release, about half of shoppers don’t know what beef cut to try instead.

“Limited knowledge about cuts means less freedom to choose between options in price and taste experiences – so consumers miss out on some terrific options for grilling,” says Parslow. “Canadians should explore options like the Top Sirloin Cap Steak – a moderately priced flavourful grilling steak that’s sized just right to serve with a side of in-season vegetables.”

Advertisement

To help beef consumers with this issue, Canada Beef has made it simple yet fun to find the right cut of beef by developing The Roundup app (available in both official languages).

The Roundup is a home-grown technology solution that help guide consumers in the process of buying and cooking Canadian beef. According to the press release, The Roundup is like having both a butcher and a chef to consult with on demand. It features a keyword search function for all beef cuts including descriptions and pictures so users can recognize each beef cut at the beef counter. The Roundup also includes Canada Beef’s test kitchen-verified cooking recommendations, with how-to videos.

“The Roundup app is the tool that allows the consumer to get the information they need at that critical moment of purchase so they have the best experience possible when they grill at home,” says Rob Meijer, President, Canada Beef. “With our research findings demonstrating that over 80 percent of younger shoppers (aged 20 to 34 years) want to improve their cooking skills and that this same group would just as soon turn to an app to learn as they would a butcher, we knew The Roundup was the right thing to do.”

The Roundup app is available free of charge for both Android and Apple mobile devices, in both English and French. For more information, visit www.canadabeef.ca.


Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below