Friboi also saw an opportunity for a unique experience with 1953 Friboi by Pão de Açúcar, implemented in 34 retail stores in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. The initiative features the premium brand, including, in some of them, dry-aged beef. The experience of forming this product mix was a high point for the brand this year.
Partnerships were held with supermarkets as well as with restaurants and the largest restaurant chains in Brazil, guaranteeing Friboi’s place as a market leader. Major partnerships such as those with McDonald’s, Bobs and Burger King were renewed based on performance in service, sustainability, quality and safety, among other factors.
The premium beef segment was another highlight for the year, with sales volume up 46% year-over-year. One factor behind this growth is consumer access to this product, led by 1953 Friboi, which was made easier when the brand became available at retailers with gourmet butchers.
On the foreign market, the Company decided to segment brands by market, with major investments in premium and high value-added products, such as Grill Steakhouse, for Europe, and Friboi Black in China, as well as in segmenting customers by brands and channels, serving niche markets such as food service, B2B, retail and e-commerce. In Dubai and China, the Company segmented brands by customer, a strategy that has had positive results. The 1953 Friboi line grew by 100% in the foreign market in 2019.
In the last year, Friboi has entered the digital world with the launch of an Instagram profile, aimed at bringing its brands even closer to consumers. By December 2019, it already had 10,500 followers, 14 million impressions from posts published on Instagram and 7.5 million interactions (likes and comments).
The Friboi Pecuarista app, available for iOS and Android, is aimed at simplifying the connection between suppliers and the Origination area at Friboi, while also allowing producers to communicate with the Company with the same quality and speed. Prior to the app’s release, all cattle acquisitions were done using two business modalities: spot pricing and cattle futures contracts. Now, livestock producers have a third option, trading via a digital market.