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Multinational restaurant franchises such as McDonald’s, Outback and Sizzler and domestic retail outlets and food companies have vowed not to use U.S. beef even before it is allowed back in the market for the fear of consumer boycott. |
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Fast food giant McDonald's billboards in the U.S. that shout``100% Beef'' may effectively grab eaters there, but apparently, that isn't enough in South Korea, as the slightest uncertainty in the origin of meat can easily repel paranoid local consumers. For marketers here, the name of the game now is strategic distancing from U.S. beef.
The nation's top food manufacturers and restaurant chains have been recently boosting their ``no U.S. beef'' policy extensively to minimize damage from the rapidly deteriorating public sentiment against meat imports from the United States.
One thing they have in common is their pledge not to use American cuts, even after the cheap, but richly-marbled meat products are freely distributed in the domestic market. A preemptive boycott? Perhaps, they say.
``It is important to win over consumer trust from the start,'' says Kim Jong-eun, a spokesman of CJ, the country's largest food manufacturer. ``There is no reason to take chances when the public is clearly wary of eating U.S. beef.''
He said CJ will not use imported beef from the U.S. in any of its dozens of food products, ranging from porridge and noodles to snacks.
``We currently operate a cattle farm in Australia, and so won't resort to using beef from elsewhere,'' Kim explained, adding that the company's food-catering subsidiary will also follow the same policy.
The nation's No. 1 burger chain Lotteria, which operates 740 outlets nationwide, reiterated its policy early last month, stressing that they have ``no plans to use U.S. beef even in the distant future.''
The largest domestic snack maker Nongshim also released a statement Thursday assuring consumers of their internal ban on American meat.
It's not just homegrown names that are promoting this campaign, but also multinationals, including U.S.-headquartered companies.
The iconic American burger slinger McDonald's has repeatedly emphasized its policy against making patties out of beef from America.
``McDonald's Korea has been using beef from Australia since 1995, and we have no plans to change this,'' says a post on the front page of its Web site.
Popular U.S.-based restaurant chain Outback Steakhouse also states that no American cuts will be served in its South Korean restaurants.
``We don't foresee any modifications,'' said company spokeswoman Kara Bhang.
Other family restaurants, including VIPS, Sizzler, T.G.I. Fridays and Bennigan's, alongside major domestic hypermarkets, such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, are all sharing similar strategies in disassociating themselves from American beef imports.
However, these decisions are not helpful to local beef importers, already concerned that they may not see the same level of strong business they saw before U.S. beef was banned in 2003.
One importer, who asked not to be named, said 50 percent of imported beef is distributed to restaurants and local butcheries, 20 percent to major grocery chains, with 30 percent typically channeled to food caterers.
``A significant chunk of our key buyers are already claiming they will not do business with us,'' he said, worrying that public perception has already crashed too heavily for recovery.
Before Seoul blocked shipments from the U.S., South Korea was the third-largest market for American meat, worth about $850 million annually. After the ban, beef from Australia and Korea's homebred cattle supplied the demand.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
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