As the U.S. proceeds with a gradual economic reopening in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented consumer demand for pork and has gradually lessened. This is according to Anthony Monaco, buyer of processed pork for C&S Wholesale Grocers, the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. and an industry leader in the food supply chain.

“Consumer demand for pork during the COVID-19 pandemic has come in different stages,” said Monaco. “March 14 through April 7 demand surged and panic buying stepped in, continuing through the first week of April. From around April 12 to the week before Memorial Day, you had the media fueling this meat surge, and the surge was stronger and longer than the original panic buying.

“Then the words ‘meat shortage’ got thrown in. I remember watching the news and saying to my wife that I’ve got to go to the store and buy some meat. I began to get concerned I didn’t have enough protein on hand for my family, and I fell into that surge buying.”

Memorial Day demand for pork was lower than expected, Monaco noted, likely due to previous over-buying by consumers coupled with a holiday diminished by COVID-19. “You’re not having large parties, you’re having smaller gatherings, maybe not anything at different households. A lot of people have taken hits economically, and that adds a piece to it,” said Monaco.

Independent grocers are a large segment of the C&S customer base, and it took an added level of creativity to keep those retailers’ coolers stocked in pork products, according to the company’s pork buyer. 

“What we did from day one is we put together a twice-daily communicator to the stores, with information fed from national protein buyers. We put out where we were at positionally, what you should see for cuts, trying to keep from adding to the panic,” Monaco explained. “We have been transparent from day one through today with the customers as to what we can do. Transparency and communication were big (factors) in some of those supply chain challenges.”

Supply chain dynamics are still changing near-daily, according to Monaco, and perhaps several times daily. “A lot of measures have been taken to keep the food service supply chain going. The supply chain disruptions have been a pretty wild ride with everything we’ve been through at this point,” he said.

“As an industry we have to adapt very quickly to changes, especially with the largest piece of our business being independent grocers. We had to take all the experience in our organization and throw that out. You go from doing something one way one day, to the complete opposite of what we all know in this business. There have been a lot of difficult days and conversations with our customers, but we have been open and transparent the whole way.”

Recent surveys show that U.S. consumers are concerned about returning to restaurants too soon. Many expect to wait as long as six months before resuming normal social and economic habits, according to Tara Dugan, director of research and insight for the National Pork Board (NPB). “We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that some of this recent activity may cause some of these contentions to (remain) even longer,” she said. “Through May 22, consumers were still pretty concerned. Around 50 to 60 percent were acting with some reluctance due to what is going on.”

For now, consumers are trying to find a suitable balance between their economic and health concerns, Dugan noted, with most anticipating that the economic impact of the pandemic will outlast the health and safety risk. “However, 60 percent note that they are more concerned about the virus itself than the market impact,” she said. 

NPB has been employing an independent polling agency to survey 1,000 consumers weekly to glean the latest socioeconomic data. This provides sets of rolling metrics that together provide a linear snapshot of shifting demands.

“We are looking at metrics such as favorability towards pork, likelihood to purchase, how confident they feel, whether or not they have recently heard anything connected with meat or pork, and also some industry factors, such as whether or not they believe pork processors are providing a safe work environment,” said Dugan. The data gleaned is shared with industry partners and used for messaging purposes by the NPB. 

Among the most interesting data revealed by the recent NPB surveys is consumers’ belief that the COVID-19 pandemic helped reveal “fundamental flaws” in the overall food supply chain, with 60 percent of respondents affirming. “Behaviors are continuously evolving. I have to say that I also took part in the surge behavior. I went out and bought a deep freezer because I wanted to make sure I had enough meat on hand. One of the things I’ve been surprised with are the out-of-stocks that exist in food and other categories,” said Dugan.

“Looking forward, consumers are more than likely continuing to plan home-cooked meals, especially given the fact that many believe that the pandemic period or at least the health crisis will continue. This is not to say that folks aren’t a little exhausted from cooking in the kitchen, but they are also enjoying spending time with the family and stretching their dollars. The idea of meals may be shifting to a more balanced plate with a serving of meat and vegetables on the side. We will continue to monitor these trends in order to assist our partners accordingly,” she said.

Monaco and Dugan made their remarks during a NPB-hosted webinar on Tuesday, June 2. A rebroadcast of the webinar is available at www.pork.org/covid19.