Capture the $80 Million Incremental Opportunity in Ground Pork

Capture the $80 Million Incremental Opportunity in Ground Pork

On this page:

• Watch On-Demand: How to Capture the $80 Million Ground Pork Opportunity | 2026 Retail Trends
• The $80 Million Incremental Prize
• Ground Pork Builds the Total Basket
• It's the "Gateway Meat" for the Next Generation
• Lean Ratios Are Leading the Charge
• The Merchandising Playbook: Build a Grinds Set
• Bring These Insights to Your Store

Watch On-Demand: How to Capture the $80 Million Ground Pork Opportunity | 2026 Retail Trends

Watch the video to uncover the data, or scan the top five takeaways below to learn how expanding your ground pork offerings can drive "center of the plate" profitability for your business.

The $80 Million Incremental Prize

While ground beef averages 23 items per store (across different sizes, fat ratios, and packaging), ground pork currently averages just two items per store.

Data shows that expanding ground pork offerings by just a couple of SKUs (from 2 to 4 or 6) can generate $80 million in new retail sales for the industry.¹

Adding two more items, like a 90/10 fat-lean ratio, can bring in $50 million, and adding forms like patties or meatballs can capture the remaining $30 million.

Ground Pork Builds the Total Basket

You don't have to worry about ground pork outshining your ground beef sales-in fact, they complement each other.

Households that purchase only ground beef spend an average of $136 per year, but households that purchase ground beef and another grind (like pork) spend $236 per year.

Furthermore, ground beef sales tend to peak in the summer for backyard grilling, while ground pork sales pop during the colder winter months and holidays.

It's the "Gateway Meat" for the Next Generation

Ground pork is proving to be the gateway meat to attract highly valuable younger shoppers.

Gen Z and Millennials are leading the charge in ground pork purchase frequency and annual spend.

Most importantly, these younger consumer segments spend nearly $5 more per year on average than the category average.

Lean Ratios Are Leading the Charge

Shoppers are actively seeking healthier, high-protein options, and leaner grinds are driving category growth.

A 90/10 fat-lean ratio is experiencing 14% volume growth.

However, nearly 43% of ground pork in the meat case is not labeled with a fat-lean ratio, leading to declining volume shares for those specific products.

Putting the fat-lean ratio directly on the label is low-hanging fruit to immediately increase sales.

The Merchandising Playbook: Build a Grinds Set

To capture this growth, retailers need consistent distribution and the right shelf placement.

Creating a dedicated "grinds set"-a specific location on the shelf where ground beef, ground turkey, and ground pork are merchandised together-brings new users into the set and increases shopper spend for the entire total basket.

Bring These Insights to Your Store

Are you ready to optimize your ground pork assortment? We have the resources to help you give consumers a reason to try and a reason to repeat.

Campaign Assets: To request ready-to-use photography, recipes, digital ads, and point-of-sale materials for the Taste What Pork Can Do^® campaign, email our team directly at [email protected].

Stay Ahead of the Market: Let the National Pork Board do the heavy lifting for your business intelligence. Subscribe to the Profit Maximizer and Weekly Pork Price Summary to receive regular, actionable data on market fluctuations, inventory levels, and sub-primal prices delivered straight to your inbox.

<sup>Sources:
1. Circana growth plan study contracted by NPB (2022, updated Nov. 2025).
2. Circana Total US MULO+ Latest 52 Weeks Ending 2-22-26</sup>