WICHITA, Kan. – Cargill’s summer 2010 retail ground-beef promotion named “What’s Your Burger Urge?” launched July 5 and will run through Aug. 20. This promotion, addressing consumers’ “urge” for burgers and their growing craving for gourmet burgers with unique toppings, is being featured at more than 1,500 retail grocery locations throughout the U.S.

Consumers choose a burger to satisfy a “craving” more than any other selection factor, through burger customization. Themed burgers rank as an important trend in the marketplace, according to consumer research from Technomic Information Services.

Cargill’s ground-beef promotion incorporates regional flavors from across the U.S. Regional tastes and ingredients are highlighted in four burger recipes: Hawaiian, Rajin’ Cajun, Tex Mex and New Yorker.

In order to create regional flavors, these recipes incorporate a variety of unique burger toppings including teriyaki sauce, pineapple, Creole mustard, grated carrots and Buffalo-wing sauce.

This program helps grocery retailers engage with consumers on factors that resonate with them, including variety and flavor in their meal options and, when it comes to ground beef, the cost-effectiveness of the product, said Elizabeth Gutschenritter, Cargill brand manager.

“Our goal for this promotion is to collaborate with retailers and ensure consumers have a positive and flavorful experience with burgers by supplying them with easy-to-prepare, great-tasting recipes that will provide a new experience with ground beef and encourage repeat purchases,” she said.

This latest promotion is a continuation of Cargill’s efforts to provide value-focused ground beef resources – beyond the meat product – for consumers. Recipe pads located at the fresh ground beef case feature the four regional gourmet burger recipes. The Web site, MyBurgerUrge.com, also provides additional recipes and serves as the entry point for a consumer prize giveaway that further drives consumer interest. The prize giveaway allows consumers to enter to win an expenses-paid trip for two people to one of the four burger-themed destinations that mirror the burger recipes: Maui; New Orleans; Austin, Texas; and New York City.

Consumers can also instantly win a Burger Urge T-shirt or receive a ground beef coupon. The unique prize T-shirt is emblazoned with the message “What’s your URGE?” in thermal ink, which when exposed to sunlight will reveal the letters B and R to turn the word URGE to BURGER.

The promotion also offers a variety of support for retailers including point-of-purchase materials for the ground beef case including large posters, 90-degree signs and on-pack stickers highlighting the promotion and containing an instant-win code to enter on the Web site for the prize giveaway.