Rice Burger Breaks New Ground for U.S. Beef in Taiwan

As consumer demand for high-quality, ready-to-heat meals expands, USMEF is working to grow frozen U.S. beef's usage with Taiwanese processors. An extended promotion for U.S. beef rice burgers also marks the industry's first collaboration with Costco in Taiwan for a frozen, ready-to-heat product. A rice burger is a sandwich that replaces the traditional bread bun with two pressed, grilled patties made from sticky rice.

USMEF partnered with Taiwanese processor Si Sheng on an extended promotion for U.S. beef rice burgers at 14 Costco outlets. USMEF supplied tasting demonstrators while Costco provided a prime location for the sampling and product display area. Costco and Si Sheng considered the promotion a major success, as 1.8 million rice burgers were sold and an estimated 75 metric tons of U.S. short plate were utilized for product sold during the promotion.

"Taiwanese processors and consumers associate U.S. beef with steaks and hot pot dishes, but we want to demonstrate that U.S. beef is great in a wide range of high-quality foods, including ready-to-heat meals," says USMEF Senior Marketing Manager Alex Sun.

The rice burger promotion began in April and was scheduled to end in September. But based on consumer feedback and the increased sales levels, Costco extended the promotion at each of its 14 stores through the end of the year.

"Si Sheng is also very pleased with the rice burger promotion and has a strong interest in developing and promoting new convenience products using U.S. beef," says Sun. "We will collaborate with Si Sheng on new product development and promotion in this coming year."

The extended promotion was made possible with support by the Beef Checkoff Program, North Dakota Beef Commission and USDA's Market Access Program.