The Annual Meat Conference gathers the meat industry together to examine the state of the industry, glean consumer trends and insights and network with partners and stakeholders. Our team were in it to win it this year in National Harbor, Maryland, attending sessions, hosting meetings and looking to get a leg up on the year ahead. We asked them to give us their top takeaways.
The Power of Meat (POM) presentation at AMC is one of those decks that gets referred to all year long as a one-stop shop for insights into the meat category with consumers and at retail.
- Takeaway #1: Meat is on fire! The headline numbers from POM are pretty eye-popping. The meat department reached a record $112 billion in retail sales in 2025, with dollar gains of 6.8% alongside 2.0% pound growth. Despite high costs and all the economic headwinds facing consumers, meat was the largest and fastest-growing fresh perimeter department in 2025. More households were buying meat, shopped for it more often, and spent more per trip. (Circana MULO+).
- Takeaway #2: What’s driving the growth? To a large degree it’s the power of protein as a health & wellness driver for a vast share of the population. 71% of consumers are focused on consuming protein! Shoppers see meat as an all-around nutrient powerhouse and an overall healthy choice for strength, energy and overall wellness...and they crave the taste of meat.
- Takeaway #3: In a session dedicated to lamb “Trends, Cuts and Consumer Connection,” our own Aussie Lambassador Chef Sean Wheaton from Cuisine Solutions served on a panel with Whole Foods and Midan Marketing.
There you have it! It’s almost like you were there, without leaving home. Good onya!