Angus name minced meat?

ONCE found only in swanky restaurants, the Angus brand is becoming associated with hamburgers and fast food, writes MATILDA ABEY

Selling Angus-branded beef products that is.

And not high-end premium products, but the poorer cousin: hamburgers.

Fast-food chain McDonald's really got the ball rolling in the middle of last year when it launched two "premium" burgers endorsed by Certified Angus Australia Beef.

The Angus burgers - the Mighty Angus and the Grand Angus - exceeded even McDonald's expectations. Sales increased 20 per cent just a month into the campaign.

With food provenance a growing concern among urbanites, it seems that knowing where your food came from - or at least the breed - is hot right now.

While branded Angus prime cuts have been making headway in swanky restaurants around the nation, it is the humble burger that has really raised the profile of the Angus breed and retail outlets such as fast food chains.

Supermarkets are the latest to jump on the bandwagon.

Following the success of McDonald's and then Hungry Jack's - whose Angry Angus burger was launched last November - supermarkets are cashing in on the pulling power of "branded" beef.

Coles launched Angus and a new line of Wagyu hamburgers late last month.

"(Wagyu) hamburger sales are fantastic. We have seen a 50 per cent increase in this calendar year with the launch of the Wagyu burgers," Coles meat general manager Allister Watson said.

Coles has gone one step further in the effort to attract customers to what is in fact a manufacturing quality version of Wagyu.

The risk taken by Coles selling Wagyu as hamburgers seems to be paying off so far.

That's despite the fact that Wagyu, a Japanese brand, is usually found in high-class restaurants, where its premium cuts, renowned for their superior marbling and taste, command top prices.

"Our burger sales have increased across the board," Mr Watson said. "I think it is definitely (a result of McDonald's launching Angus burgers)."

Coles has been selling CAAB Angus sausages for some time and Costco sells Angus burgers supplied by Teys Certified Angus.

The Angus-verified Coles sausages are "50 per cent minimum Angus", while Angus beef supplied to CAAB stipulates a 75 per cent minimum Angus, as is the Teys beef.

CAAB chief executive Phil Morley told The Weekly Times "Coles are doing the right thing".

"We are working with Coles to ensure the Angus beef product in the Coles-verified Angus burger is indeed Angus," Mr Morley said. "Coles are supportive of the CAAB program and are working in conjunction with us."

However, while the high sales results can only be good news for Angus producers, branded products such as CAAB may be edged off the shelf by premium house brands.

Mr Watson said that while there were no plans to drop the CAAB brand from its supermarkets, the Coles- brand Angus sausages and CAAB sausages were obviously competing for the same consumer dollar.

"We will continue to offer the CAAB brand, and we have seen good sales (for the CAAB sausages), however we have seen a dissipation in CAAB sales (with the launch of the Coles Angus burgers)," Mr Watson said.

Such is the strength of the Angus brand that Coles plans to launch a "steak program" in the next two months.

Mr Watson said Coles worked on a "three-tier" strategy with house brands filling the different tiers. The Angus products fill the "finest products" category or the top tier.

"Australians are very parochial and if we can sell Queensland beef in Queensland we will," he said.

However, it is cattle breeders who win in the end, regardless of any conjecture about devaluing the breed's branding with what is essentially grinding beef.

South Australian producer Duncan MacGillivray, who paid the top price of $20,000 for an Angus bull at the annual Banquet Angus stud sale last week said he believed the heightened brand awareness through the McDonald's and Hungry Jack's campaigns only helped the breed.

"I am a strong believer that exposure is the key, regardless if it is (hamburgers) or not," he said. "It all helps us as producers."

Teys Brothers were unavailable for comment.

"We wanted to make sure we got the supply chain right.

"People are looking for more detail about the provenance of the product.

Coles general manager of meat, Allister Watson, said the Angus Burger (pictured) used verified Angus beef, was priced at $6.50 for a pack of four and was available at all stores.

The Wagyu range consists of the Coles Finest Wagyu Beef Burger, Coles Finest Wagyu Beef Burger with Mushrooms and the Coles Finest Wagyu Beef, Mushroom and Shiraz Sausage and start at $7/pack.