How pork producers can bring their product back to the table

Pork consumption is declining, but producers are making a concerted effort to reverse that.

2023 marked one of the worst years for pork producer profitability, and in 2024 the National Pork Board reported that pork is at risk of becoming a “protein of the past.”

Now, industry leaders are developing consumer segmenting and multi-generational marketing strategies to increase pork consumption among a more diverse range of consumers.

While it’s too early to gauge the full impact of this effort, we believe the industry must go beyond marketing and invest in a long-term plan to reverse declining consumption. From our perspective, pork producers should focus on three things to bring their product back to the table:

1. Data reporting and analytics
2. Strategic transformation
3. Private equity partnerships

Use the power of analytics

Consumer choices are rapidly evolving, and so are the media for how these choices are made. The FDA estimates that the percent of groceries purchased online in the United States is in the double digits and will continue to grow. At the same time, it’s widely predicted that agriculture will need to produce 70% more food by 2050 to keep up with the rising population.

These challenges require data-minded leaders who can study consumer behavior, review the analytics and develop an ongoing plan to meet them where they are, whether that be responding to heightened demand or digitalizing the shopping experience. The industry must modernize to keep up with new trends, and tech-and-analytical-minded executives should be at the forefront of this process.

Build a formal strategy team

Organizations undergoing profound changes, digitalization or product turnarounds will often initiate a “total transformation.”

Transformations generally occur when a business is implementing new technologies (either internal or external facing), altering its core product/service, launching/revamping a product or rebranding their organization. At the forefront of these transformations, larger businesses will generally appoint a strategy team or transformation leader (vice president of transformation, chief of staff to the CEO, etc.).

Related: The ultimate Charles Aris guide to executive recruiting

Private equity-backed businesses or larger corporations tend to hire former consultants from one of the top-tier consulting firms (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) to serve in this capacity. These hires possess the toolkit often required during a total transformation, such as strategic analysis, go-to-market planning and value creation.

Consider partnering with an investor

Private equity firms are becoming one of the most sought-after sources of capital injection for both large and small businesses, especially those that are founder owned and operated. Business owners often stay in a leadership role during a private equity acquisition or merger, and many say the experience provides growth levers they never expected to have access to.

Firms will often engage owners in a partial sale, bring in a dedicated M&A team solely focused on inorganic growth, provide access to a network of collaborative CEOs, create an advisory board to ensure accountability for growth initiatives and mitigate any potential risk associated with rapid business growth.

The takeaway:

To revitalize pork consumption, producers must adopt a multi-faceted strategy that transcends marketing efforts. Key recommendations include leveraging data analytics to understand and meet evolving consumer preferences, establishing a dedicated strategy team to guide organizational transformation and seeking private equity partnerships to secure the necessary capital and expertise for growth.

By focusing on these areas, we believe pork producers can better adapt to market changes, innovate their approach and ultimately reinvigorate their industry.

To learn more, contact Eric Spell at (336) 217-9116 or eric.spell@charlesaris.com.