Spring has brought a new energy and tremendous opportunities for conversation about consumer pork demand. Recent pork industry events blended business insights with consumer storytelling and connection. The Annual Meat Conference in Orlando, Florida, and Spring Retail Advisory Committee meeting in Napa Valley, California, and the upcoming World Pork Expo event in Des Moines, Iowa, illustrate how the science of pork, the culinary story and the consumer story are collectively shaping consumer demand.
National Pork Board (NPB) is committed to gathering industry insights and intelligence to drive the most effective business and marketing decisions. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to engage in energizing conversations across the industry—most notably through the Annual Meat Conference (AMC), our Retail Advisory Committee (RAC) Meeting, industry webinars and the highly anticipated World Pork Expo —all of which have been invaluable for further informing our work and strategies at NPB. If you have been wondering if there is truly an opportunity for meat and pork amid a complex, ever-changing environment that consumers must navigate, the answer is yes. Now is pork’s time!
Meat is Having A Moment
Across both events, the data discussed and conversations shared pointed to a pivotal moment for the meat industry. This year’s 2025 Power of Meat study indicates 98% of American households purchase meat, a whopping 81% of Americans consider themselves meat eaters, and getting enough protein is important/somewhat important to 91% of Americans. So, the question is how does meat meet the consumer where they are?
During the Power of Meat 2025 After Party I facilitated, our panel discussed the innovative ways retailers can rethink how meat and pork is positioned, merchandised and marketed to shoppers – especially younger shoppers. The panel discussed everything from featuring finished dishes with recipes vs raw cuts in retailer ads to merchandising a display of the key ingredients with the pork cuts to fulfill the recipe, ultimately making meat and a meal easier for shoppers to consider, purchase and repeat.
A few weeks later, RAC reinforced that it is time for meat to shine. At the meeting, we heard from our foodservice insights partner, Datassential, who shared that between 2021 and 2024, the number of meat eaters increased by 17%. That’s a significant shift that far surpasses the other consumer groups, including vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians that tend to have a lot of buzz in the industry.
This growth signals a major shift in consumer behavior and opens the door for pork to take on a more dynamic role in the marketplace. At RAC, conversations focused on how pork has evolved beyond the traditional chop. By reimagining pork as a versatile ingredient, not just a protein centerpiece, we unlock new culinary possibilities and relevance across eating occasions. With these advancements in how we position pork, retailers will have new ways to merchandise and market it.
It’s a good time to be in the business of meat.
Bridging Science and Flavor with Consumer-Driven Innovation
While the appetite for meat is obviously growing, it’s also important to understand how to gain the most value from the carcass while delivering against consumer expectations. At AMC, I facilitated a pork fabrication session where we broke down the opportunity to move beyond the primals we all know and love – The interactive pork carcass fabrication session featured Kari Underly, founder of Range Meat Academy, and Chef Garrett Pittler, Center of Plate Specialist, US Food and Executive Chef and creator of Cancel the Chef.
In the fabrication session, we helped retailer attendees see that there was an opportunity to move the pork category beyond where it is today – the technical and operational approach to making and marketing pork. The conversation was grounded in what pork primals offer but quickly moved to what consumers seek from their food choices and how pork can deliver for them.
The hog carcass includes primals and cuts that present tremendous opportunities for pork’s incremental growth—not only because of how the hog breaks down into some of the most revered cuts, but also due to the range of flavors each cut can deliver in its final preparation.
Pork has the potential to connect with consumers on a deeper, more emotional and flavor-forward level.
Kari and Chef Garrett focused on how the different primals serve distinct purposes—whether performing well in specific dishes, being easy to prepare in go-to cooking appliances or being ideal for experiences like barbeques. They talked about how pork is the world’s protein when it comes to culturally inspired dishes, and for consumers domestically, it offers the chance to discover new flavors, cuisines and eating experiences. One could say it truly is the definition of versatility.
We have talked for decades about how pork has earned its place in breakfast, holidays and celebrations, and what we were able to demonstrate in the fabrication session is that pork has upside potential – an easy mid-week bowl dish, a speed scratch meal or even the second dinner for a growing teen (yes, my son eats three dinners nightly!).
And the industry is about to experience just how far pork can go.
Making the Most of Meat’s Moment
On May 6, National Pork Board launched a new consumer marketing campaign, Taste What Pork Can Do™, which brings to life how pork aligns with consumer values of taste, flavor and versatility.
Months of extensive market research through NPB’s proprietary consumer insights tool, Consumer Connect, helped us better understand today’s consumer and the motivators of what they want and need. We know what consumers purchase and how they move between cuts, and this knowledge helps us use pork to get consumers to crave more pork in the Taste What Pork Can Do™ campaign.
This is a fresh perspective on pork – not just as a main dish, but as a flavorful, versatile ingredient that fits into everyday meals and occasions. Younger generations are thinking about pork differently, presenting the perfect opportunity for our industry to engage with them where they are.
We’re bridging the gap between product and experience by combining the technical aspects of pork cuts, the culinary story, and how pork can deliver truly amazing culturally inspired dishes – think al pastor or carnitas – with the consumer’s desire for flavor and convenience. We’re moving beyond the cuts themselves to connect pork to what consumers know and crave – dishes that are fun to eat, branch out beyond the boring, and are bursting with flavor.
NPB is literally and figuratively “stepping up to the plate,” providing a framework of consumer insights the campaign was built on and the roadmap to elevate pork’s position in the meat case that will support long-term sustainable growth.
Visit porkcheckoff.org to learn more about research, consumer insights, and how the campaign is making pork top-of-mind for today’s consumers.
Content reshared courtesy of the Pork Checkoff, Des Moines, Iowa
