Written by Glenda Lee Allen/Kelvin Heppner on Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Despite running a marketing campaign that has drawn the ire of many cattle producers, a spokesperson for A&W Canada says the company is selling more beef as a result of the promotion.
In September of 2013, the restaurant chain announced it would no longer be using beef from cattle that receive steroid or hormone injections. Initially, the marketing campaign referred to the meat used for A&W burgers as "Better Beef."
Cattle producers have said the campaign is misleading and creating undue concern about growth promotants, which have been used for more than four decades in Canada and reduce the environmental footprint of beef production.
Trish Sahlstrom, vice president of purchasing and distribution with A&W Canada, met some of those producers face-to-face at the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association Convention in Moose Jaw on Monday.
She said the campaign is a response to concerns the company has heard from its customers.
"It purely comes from our talking with consumers and asking them about the things that are important to them," said Sahlstrom. "It was very clear from their response that their top concerns included added hormones, steroids and antibiotics. So that's the research we did, and we're doing our best to deliver on their request."
The promotion has made a difference in A&W's burger sales, she said.
"We are outpacing the quick-service industry for both customer count and same-store sales growth," noted Sahlstrom.
The restaurant chain has backed away from using the term "Better Beef" - a decision that was also made in response to consumers, she said.
"It wasn't something we gave a lot of thought to. It was a translation of what consumers said to us, but when we actually launched it, we heard that very little," said Sahlstrom. "The other thing is in respect to the Canadian beef industry, there were a lot of folks really unhappy that we were saying it was better. So there was no reason for us to say it, as it wasn't important to consumers."
A&W has also been criticized for sourcing beef from outside of Canada to meet the specifications in the marketing campaign.
"We have sourced some from the US, although I think the US has a similar situation to Canada. Accessibility is not very good in the US, but we are getting some from the US, and we have gone to Australia," she said.
The company is also considering making changes to other items on its menus, she said.
"We know there are a lot of things that are on our menu today that we need to make some changes to and be really transparent about specifications and all those kinds of things," said Sahlstrom. "We're not done. We can't be."
Despite running a marketing campaign that has drawn the ire of many cattle producers, a spokesperson for A&W Canada says the company is selling more beef as a result of the promotion.
In September of 2013, the restaurant chain announced it would no longer be using beef from cattle that receive steroid or hormone injections. Initially, the marketing campaign referred to the meat used for A&W burgers as "Better Beef."
Cattle producers have said the campaign is misleading and creating undue concern about growth promotants, which have been used for more than four decades in Canada and reduce the environmental footprint of beef production.
Trish Sahlstrom, vice president of purchasing and distribution with A&W Canada, met some of those producers face-to-face at the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association Convention in Moose Jaw on Monday.
She said the campaign is a response to concerns the company has heard from its customers.
"It purely comes from our talking with consumers and asking them about the things that are important to them," said Sahlstrom. "It was very clear from their response that their top concerns included added hormones, steroids and antibiotics. So that's the research we did, and we're doing our best to deliver on their request."
The promotion has made a difference in A&W's burger sales, she said.
"We are outpacing the quick-service industry for both customer count and same-store sales growth," noted Sahlstrom.
The restaurant chain has backed away from using the term "Better Beef" - a decision that was also made in response to consumers, she said.
"It wasn't something we gave a lot of thought to. It was a translation of what consumers said to us, but when we actually launched it, we heard that very little," said Sahlstrom. "The other thing is in respect to the Canadian beef industry, there were a lot of folks really unhappy that we were saying it was better. So there was no reason for us to say it, as it wasn't important to consumers."
A&W has also been criticized for sourcing beef from outside of Canada to meet the specifications in the marketing campaign.
"We have sourced some from the US, although I think the US has a similar situation to Canada. Accessibility is not very good in the US, but we are getting some from the US, and we have gone to Australia," she said.
The company is also considering making changes to other items on its menus, she said.
"We know there are a lot of things that are on our menu today that we need to make some changes to and be really transparent about specifications and all those kinds of things," said Sahlstrom. "We're not done. We can't be."