“Tacos again?” they’ll say. “Yes,” I’ll say.

Never mind that it’s Tuesday; I’ve got a pound of ground beef that is nearing expiration and needs to be cooked, have no time to be any more creative, and it doesn’t get much easier or more cost effective than good ol' tacos. Not to mention, they’re delicious.

Like most consumers long sequestered to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, I took to cooking more at home. I began to look for new recipes and make new things, and I would love to see my family’s satisfaction when those meals would hit the spot. I recall at one point making a Beef Wellington (with ground turkey, because that's all I had) and a nice homemade gravy, and having it with some red wine and feeling pretty damn rewarded.

But life is as busy as it ever was pre-pandemic, with kids again in school and sports and various schedules crisscrossing every which way. I’m tired. I really don’t care anymore about some feeling of having played a crucial part in the creation of a meal. I’d rather not have to think so damn hard. I’d rather save the time. And so, I’m back to tacos “again.”

It’s dawning on me now how I’m just one example of what experts are observing in the latest consumer trends, and what those trends mean for processors and the products they make. I particularly identify with what Kevin Ryan of Malachite Strategy and Research discussed at the Chicken Marketing Summit in July.

Consumers, he said, are tired of planning for dinner — most don’t think of it until right before dinner time — and tired of what they’ve been cooking. What they need are solutions, and so marketers of chicken (applicable also to beef and pork) need to change their mindsets from being just sellers of meat and poultry to being sellers of solutions.

Animal protein products, Ryan said, have these seven jobs to do:

1. Instantly add value for the last-minute cook by offering quick-and-easy meals that are, for example, already cooked.

2. Be “chaos tolerant” for an even busier post-pandemic consumer, with products that can be cooked in a crockpot, for example, and easily reheated.

3. Be appliance-compatible for a tired consumer that needs some help from things like Instant Pots and Air Fryers.

4. Be “inspiration ready,” capitalizing on social media recipe sharing by bundling those meal components for the consumer.

5. Work harder … a product must go beyond carbohydrates and really pack in the nutrient density.

6. Reflect consumers’ values. Some 63% of consumers, according to Ryan, buy goods and services from companies who reflect their personal values. An example is “Airly,” a cracker made by Post and Anheuser Busch from spent barley grain in an effort to go carbon negative.

7. Satisfy consumers’ desire for a premium experience. Citing IRI research, Ryan noted that more people — and at all income levels — are buying premium during the pandemic than ever before.

As a consumer, I personally don’t need processors to hit on all seven of these jobs. The first three would be just fine. Anything to put a good, flavorful and healthful meal on the table in a timely manner — and put an end to the complaints.

I really don't care anymore

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