Reindeer Meat Products in Finnish Grocery Stores

Reindeer is a special meat product. In Finland less than one percent of consumed meat is reindeer. The Finnish food markets are in continuous change. The food trade has increased and customers have more choices. The Finnish grocery trade is characterised by a strong presence of chains. The strategic decisions on product assortments are related to customer’s behaviour. The reindeer meat products are included into the food assortments, if they attract more customers or improve the profitability.

A great variety of reindeer meat products are offered in different type of grocery stores. Frozen products, cold meat products, canned meat and convenience meals are sold nationwide.

The most common product is frozen reindeer flakes, which is often sold even in the modest stores. The flakes are produced by several processors, which try to avoid price competition with packaging. However, the price competition is hard. Similar frozen flake products are also produced from imported red deer meat. Reindeer flakes are more expensive and the price difference is highest in the biggest packages.

The medium price of frozen reindeer flakes and red deer flakes in packages of different size.

The reindeer meat products have obvious opportunities in the Finnish grocery sector. It suits to the needs of modern customers who require convenience and variation in the daily meals. On the other hand the high image of reindeer meat may encourage the grocery stores and meat processors to keep reindeer in their product range.

The results are based on sample collected from 33 stores around the country during the winter 2007. The data consisted of 780 products.

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