High Valued Meats Strategy

Summary

The program is designed to support the development and implementation of Coles RROA’s red meat high value growth strategies in both the domestic and global markets. The specific focus of the program will be on insights and design-led innovation approaches to New Product Development (NPD) and Process Improvement – in particular, to drive high value beef exports. It is noted that in addition to the development of new high value products to meet customer demand, the program may also extend more broadly into the Coles RROA’s business activities where opportunities to innovate red meat markets are identified.

Objectives

The program is designed to support the development and implementation of Coles RROA’s red meat high value growth strategies in both the domestic and global markets through but not limited to the following:
• market and insights intelligence and analysis in targeted high value markets
• implementation of design-led approaches for New Product Development (NPD)
• scanning exercises of new innovative product, packaging, technology and processes, and business model designs
• trade shows and industry events to evaluate new innovative products
• capture, collate and analyse consumer and market trend data to provide insights to new products and packaging to meet customer demand
• insight and innovation capability and skill development
• product evaluations and testing
• study tours of key international and domestic retail and food service markets of innovative products, processes, technologies and packaging
• facilitated workshops on technologies, processes and packaging involving suppliers and technical experts.

Key findings

Coles RROA has made significant progress in the development of R&D process & NPD systems, completing a number of projects that contributed to a significant increase in the volume and value growth of red meat sales through the facility.

Benefits to industry

Coles RROA have completed projects and produced reports on the following topics relevant to industry;
• evaluation of red meat in vacuum skin packed (VSP) on-board retail ready format
• red meat waterjet cutting and fat trimming
• identifying new markets and product opportunities in China
• polyentrapment in meat
• red meat mince cooling by liquid Nitrogen
• liquid lock – red meat trays – soaker pad removal, as well as undergoing an evaluation of cobotics in red meat packaging.

MLA action

Review and publish the final report. Review a stage 2 proposal to extend learnings from the initial program as summarised in further research.

Future research

Future research opportunities include:

• continue to review opportunity spaces and gaps in export markets, specifically Asian retail and institutional markets
• sustainability projects – recyclable packaging, reusable plastic trays, label etching/RFID tags, label liner recycling, one way pallets, primal crates, trim bins and packaging material yield
• product label (interactive) authenticity
• sustainable packaging to meet export market future requirements e.g. paper VSP skin pack with 100% recyclable properties
• Rapiscan x-ray scanning program (DEXA/MEXA)
• Vision systems – robot eight bail arm detection, mezzanine bail arm detection and polyentrapment vision algorithm augmentation with AI
• fixed weight retail meat retail packs
• waterjet portioning implementing x-ray scanning of lamb portions and 3D robotic cutting paths
• adaptation of x-ray technology in quality assessment of red meat primals through pilot programs
• develop capability for expansion into value added products
• traceability technology evaluation (Lumachain etc.)
• cobotic project implementation
• evaluation of an innovative processing technology for production efficiencies and cost savings in food processing including red meat (J20216); Project proposal submitted, under review
• continue to review new technologies with MLA and global solution providers.