The finals of the World Steak Challenge in Amsterdam didn\u2019t escape the eye of Cantillon in recent weeks. <\/p>\n
Two Irish entries made it into the winners\u2019 enclosure, with cuts from the country taking home the prizes for world\u2019s best grass-fed ribeye and sirloin.<\/p>\n
The winners were Lidl Ireland and Tesco Ireland. Tesco followed up the steak win by going on to claim 86 prizes at the Blas na h\u00c9ireann Irish Food Awards. <\/p>\n
The UK supermarket chain, led by Irish man Ken Murphy, has sought out these industry awards as seals of approval for its Finest range as it bids to push premium.<\/p>\n
Consumer sentiment and spending data would imply it\u2019s a curious time for the supermarket to be pushing its premium own-label range.<\/p>\n
Irish shoppers are well aware they have been forced to suck up sustained increases to their weekly shop in recent years, with their annual bill up about \u20ac3,000 since 2021. <\/p>\n
Last month, when polling showed cost-of-living pressures<\/a> dominated voters\u2019 priorities ahead of Budget 2027, the latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator showed grocery inflation was up 4.3 per cent. If a household was spending \u20ac200 a week on groceries, that would add close to \u20ac450<\/a> to their annual bill. <\/p>\n More recent data this week from the Central Statistics Office showed Irish consumer prices were up 4.1 per cent<\/a> year on year in September, which was the fastest annual rate of increase since January 2024.<\/p>\n Amid these cost pressures, Tesco has focused on upselling premium. Or downselling dining out, depending on how you look at it.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s recent annual report said the rising cost of dining out has \u201cresulted in a shift towards eating in and a higher demand for restaurant-quality food at home\u201d.<\/p>\n If would-be diners are thinking twice about going out for their steak, they will want something to fill that void. Tesco thinks, why not our steak?<\/p>\n