Overview 

Niche marketing is targeting a product or service to a small market segment that is not being served or in which demand has not exceeded supply. A market niche can be identified as a geographical area, a specific industry, ethnic group or a particular age group. An ethnic market is a group of consumers that share a common cultural background. The increasingly diverse U.S. population offers pork producers several marketing niches to pursue.  January 2008 . . . Niche/Ethnic Pork

Marketing

• An Evaluation of the Importance to Consumers of Selected Niche Pork Attributes, Pork Niche Market Working Group, 2005 - This project estimated the market potential of niche pork products.
• Areas of Possible Collaboration among Niche Pork Companies, Pork Niche Market Working Group, 2007 - The project identified five possible areas of collaboration among niche pork companies.
• Berkshire Swine Production and Marketing, Iowa State University, 2006 - This recent study provides an overview of the Berkshire niche market and lists breed-specific certification studies. The report was supported by the Value Chain Partnership for a Sustainable Agriculture and the Pork Niche Market Working Group, using funds from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
• Larry Cizek, Director, Culinary & Niche Market Development, National Pork Board, Des Moines, Iowa, Phone: 515-223-2600, Email: larry.cizek@porkboard.org - Responsible for existing culinary chef and school foodservice programs and the development of niche marketing opportunities.
• Comparing Swine Niche Market Opportunities, Iowa State University, updated November 2003 - The eight-page publication offers a comparison of five existing niche market groups in Iowa.
• Consumer Attitudes Toward Color and Marbling of Fresh Pork (pdf) - This fact sheet, compiled by the National Pork Board in association with the American Meat Science Association, reports research results on consumer preferences for fresh pork.
• Costs, Returns, Production and Financial Efficiency of Niche Pork Production, Iowa State University Extension and Practical Farmers of Iowa, 2006 - This project reports data collected from 41 farrow-to-finish farms.
• Economic Research Service, Briefing Room - Hogs/Pork.
• Ethnic Marketing of Pork (pdf) - This fact sheet, compiled by the National Pork Board in association with the American Meat Science Association, provides an overview of ethnic marketing potential in the United States, suggested market research, product selection considerations and promotion.
• An Evaluation of the Importance of Consumers of Selected Niche Pork Attributes, National Pork Board, May 2005 - This consumer preference research was funded by the National Pork Board with support from the Pork Niche Market Working Group.
• Extension of Chilled Pork Storage Life (pdf) - This fact sheet, compiled by the National Pork Board in association with the American Meat Science Association, addresses the role of chilled pork storage life in capitalizing on potential export and value-added domestic markets.
• Factors Affecting Pork Consumption (pdf), Economic Research Service, USDA, May 2005 - Pork ranks third in annual U.S. meat consumption. This report analyzes existing and potential pork consumption trends using demographic data.
• Maximizing Carcass Utilization in Niche Pork Companies, Pork Niche Market Working Group and the Value Chain Partnerships for a Sustainable Agriculture Project, June 2007 - This study reviewed the supply of natural and organic pork available from niche pork companies.
• Meat, Livestock, Poultry and Eggs Analysis, Foreign Agriculture Service, USDA.
• National Pork Board Niche Marketing Factsheet (pdf), National Pork Board.
• New Product Development for Pork Niche Marketing, Pork Niche Market Working Group, June 2004 - This online guide describes the new product development process and provides a list of resources.
• NichePORK The Other Opportunity - This Web site by the checkoff-funded National Pork Board provides answers and resources regarding niche marketing.
• Niche Pork Marketing Opportunities, Pork Niche Market Working Group, June 2003 - This USDA-funded study identified niche pork marketing opportunities for Iowa producers. It focused on major markets in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis and Kansas City.
• Niche Pork Production Handbook, Iowa Pork Industry Center, Iowa State University Extension, 2007 - This online guide has nine sections and 30 subsections that cover such things as nutrition, managing cots, reproduction and genetics, production flow and pig husbandry.
• Pork (Domestic Production and International Trade Information), FASonline, USDA.
• Pork: Marketing Alternatives, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), April 2004 - This publication offers producers alternative marketing approaches, such as direct or niche marketing, for their pork.
• Pork Niche Market Working Group
• Profitable Pork: Strategies for Hog Producers - The Sustainable Agriculture Network provides examples of producers who serve niche markets.
• Specialty Pork Marketing Opportunites, Iowa Pork Produces Association - This article by Gary Huber of Practical Farmers of Iowa identifies market trends and lists companies looking for producers.
• The United States Pork Niche Market Phenomenon, Iowa State University, 2006.

Processing/Manufacturing

• American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) - Representing more than 1,700 small- and medium-sized meat, poultry and food businesses.
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Demonstration Plans, Iowa State University Meat Laboratory - These demonstration plans are tools available to guide plant and processing facilities with developing their own HACCP plans to comply with the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
• North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP) - A nonprofit trade association that provides information and technical services to the meat processing industry.
• Safety of Fresh Pork from Farm to Table, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA - This site overviews pork inspection, retail cuts and how long consumers can store fresh and frozen pork.

 Businesses/Case Studies

• Eden Farms, a coalition of independent family farmers established in 1998, is the largest American supplier of certified Berkshire pork. The Berkshire lineage has been known for high-quality meat for more than 350 years. Not only is Berkshire always tender, juicy and flavorful, but Eden Farms Berkshire hogs are raised in a healthy, environmentally friendly way. Eden Farms’ producers are committed to a strict code of responsible and humane husbandry.
• Gordito's Meats- A group of Utah pork producers market Hispanic-style products to Mexican-Americans in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.

Links checked February 2008.