Grass-fed beef a hit at major Tokyo festival

15 September 2011

Grass-fed beef a hit at major Tokyo festival

Over three quarters of a million Japanese people attended the Super Yosakoi food, music and dance festival in Tokyo recently and many got a taste of New Zealand grass-fed beef. By the end of the festival, 400 kilograms of the beef had been barbecued and eaten.

Introducing Japanese consumers to New Zealand grass-fed beef was the point of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (B+LNZ) food stand at the festival and those who tasted the beef loved it, B+LNZ Market Manager Japan, John Hundleby said.

“We identified the Super Yosakoi Festival as an event in central Tokyo that provided the chance to present New Zealand grass-fed beef to a sizable number of consumers and to have them experience first-hand its excellent eating qualities.

“It was great to see their positive reactions to the taste and texture and then for us to be able to tell them where they could buy New Zealand beef in Tokyo – either in supermarkets and restaurants.”

Hundleby said participation in events such as the Super Yosakoi festival helped develop a broader fan-base for New Zealand grass-fed beef and was a good way of reaching a big crowd in one hit.

· Japan is New Zealand’s second largest beef market

· In the season ending 2010, Japan imported 30,834 tonnes of New Zealand beef which is 9 per cent of New Zealand beef exports

· New Zealand beef accounted for just over 7 per cent of Japan’s beef imports in the first half of 2011

· Japanese consumers place a high value on New Zealand’s food safety record – and this is even more relevant since the massive earthquake and Fukushima nuclear power plan crisis

· Japanese consumers are showing an increasing interest in the health and nutritional merits of lean New Zealand grass-fed beef – compared to the fattier grain-fed beef more commonly found in the Japanese market.

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