Hi there,

I am writing a case study about a beef jerky company and am not the best at assessing the industry, what are your thoughts? Is a CAGR of 4.2 volume and 2.1 sales good? Why would sales be less than volume (decreasing prices?). I am trying to write the threat of new entrants and competitive rivalry section and am stuck on the growth of the industry - i.e. is this an industry that new competitors would want to enter. Hope this finds you well and thank you in advance for your help!

Take care,

Ward

Beef jerky was considered to be a snack food in competition with products such as popcorn, chips, nuts,

and energy and nutrition bars. In 2015, the snack sector continued to experience growth both in volume and

retail sales, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 per cent in volume and 2.1 per cent in sales

THE BEEF JERKY INDUSTRY Canadians were losing their appetite for meat, which was being driven by the previously mentioned trend toward healthy snacks and the growth in plant-based proteins, an aging population, and increasing immigration, which brought new tastes. This trend had a negative eect on Canadian snack food manufacturers' protability, resulting in a decrease in margins from 4.8 per cent in 2014 to 4.2 per cent in 2018.8 Canadian meat consumption had been declining signicantly since 2005 (see Exhibit 1).9 However, consumption of salted meat snacks like beef jerky had increased by 18 per cent between 2010 and 2015 as consumers sought to nd a convenient source of protein and consume healthier snacks.10 Given the decline in overall meat consumption and the recent increase in meat snacks, the future trends were somewhat uncertain. In 2014, approximately 41 million meat sticks were consumed in Canada. Historically, 85 per cent of industry sales came from the large national brands, with Jack Links and Oberto's leading the way. According to Nielsen, meat snack sales had increased 3.5 per cent to $2.8 billionwith 7.0 per cent compound growth between 2010 and 2014and the number of meat snack businesses grew by 5.4 per cent.11 Although potato chips sales were more than twice that amount, that category posted a dollar growth of just 1.7 per cent in 2017. Revenue for meat products manufacturing was forecast to grow at an annual compound rate of 4.0 per cent between 2018 and 2022, based on changes in physical volume and unit prices.12