U.S. Beef Guidebook for Bar and Pub Dining in Japan

Japan’s ongoing “meat boom” has had a large impact on the country’s foodservice sector, especially bars and pubs that offer dining options. Recognizing the opportunity for U.S. beef, USMEF used funding from the Beef Checkoff Program to produce the “American Beef Guidebook for Bar and Pub Dining,” to encourage foodservice operators to include U.S. beef on menus.

“What is effective and unique about this guidebook is that it introduces users to actual case studies and success stories of putting U.S. beef on menus and it provides reasons why U.S. beef is a practical and useful product for Japanese food businesses,” explained Tatsuru Kasatani, USMEF Marketing Manager in Japan.

Kasatani credited price increases in the seafood industry and lifestyle changes throughout Japan for the now roughly 5-year-old movement called “Niku Boom” (Meat Boom).

“Today, many traditional Japanese bars and pubs have transformed to be more like Western-style businesses that serve grilled red meat instead of fish, sushi and sashimi (raw fish),” he said. For the new guidebook, USMEF collected and assembled information from seminars it conducts for U.S. beef, along with specific product descriptions. Topics include U.S. beef production, breed varieties, food safety, grading, cuts, market trends, recipe development and merchandising.

The full guidebook can be viewed and downloaded

The “American Beef Guidebook for Bar and Pub Dining” was produced by USMEF-Japan to educate the Japanese foodservice industry about the advantages of including U.S. beef on menus