Walmart ups the ante in the retail beef market

Giant retailer makes major move that will reverberate up and down the beef marketing chain.

April 25, 2019

5 Min Read
Angus steer on feed
Burt Rutherford

Go to relentles.com and where does it take you? To the Amazon website.

Amazon shook the retail grocery business when it purchased Whole Foods. Mega-grocery store chains have been trying to adjust to the significant competitive threat ever since.

Perhaps Walmart has. While the move initially will up Walmart’s ante in the Southeast in retail beef marketing, the questions is this: How soon does the retail giant plan on taking the program nationwide?

Below are two news releases explaining Walmart’s entry into not just the beef business, but the cattle business.

 

Walmart, the nation’s largest grocer, announced its entry into the beef industry, developing an end-to-end supply chain for Angus beef.

The retailer has been diligently working to improve the quality of its food offering with the company’s fresh division and meat department at the forefront of this effort. To ensure supply of quality Angus beef and to meet customer demand for a more transparent supply chain, Walmart is working with best-in-class partners including Texas rancher Bob McClaren of Prime Pursuits.

“As clean labels, traceability and transparency become more and more important to customers, we’ve made plans to enter into the beef industry creating an unmatched system that allows us to deliver consistent quality and value,” said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Meat, Walmart U.S. “By enlisting a number of best-in-class companies to take part in the supply chain, we’ll be able to provide customers with unprecedented quality, provide transparency throughout the supply chain and leverage the learnings we gain across our business.”

A selection of Angus beef cuts like steaks and roasts from this supply chain will be sold in 500 Walmart stores across a number of states in the southeast including Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

The retailer’s new supply chain effort will create a steady demand for ranchers and feedyards offering stability in the marketplace. In addition, more than 250 jobs will be created in Kansas at Creekstone Farms’ beef processing facility with another 200 plus jobs in Georgia where the retailer owns a case-ready facility that will be run by FPL Food.

“No bigger paradigm change has taken place in the beef industry than what is happening with Walmart bringing truly high-quality, all-natural, no-hormones-added Black Angus beef to its customers. This bold vision gives Walmart a special place at the table by contributing to the most enjoyable and memorable moments in the lives of its customers,” said McClaren.

“It’s been four generations since we began, yet the traditional values of the McClaren family and 44 Farms are as relevant today as they were more than a century ago.”

“Walmart has listened to its hard-working customers and taken on the monumental task of providing steakhouse quality, natural Black Angus beef to their local stores. This bold vision will not only elevate backyard barbeques and family dinner tables across the country, but transform the entire supply chain,” said Hank McWhorter of Mc6 Cattle Feeders. “Mc6 Cattle Feeders is honored to help make this vision a reality. Mc6 is a family business that has been feeding and raising cattle on the same land in the Texas Panhandle for four generations.”

Creekstone President and CEO Satoru Oura noted “Creekstone welcomes the opportunity to partner with industry leaders in providing premium quality Black Angus beef to Walmart customers while, at the same time, growing the number of jobs at our state-of-the-art facility.”

“Walmart’s ever-growing command presence in retail paints an optimistic future, one that proves beneficial for many involved,” said Francois Leger, president and CEO of FPL Food. “In addition to FPL employees, this will provide many opportunities for the agriculture community to include farmers, ranchers and cattlemen alike. The positive impact will be felt by many.”

 

Why Walmart is entering the beef industry

By Scott Neal, SVP Meat

As we get closer to summer grilling season, backyard barbecuers are gearing up to serve hamburgers, steaks and kebabs to family and friends. You likely don’t remember your last great piece of chicken, but when you’re talking about a mesquite masterpiece, beef is the main event.

That’s why here at Walmart, we are working to make the beef America eats better. To us that means more transparency. Customers want freshness and affordability, but they also want to know what’s in their food and where it comes from.

To answer our customer’s demands, we need visibility into every step in the supply chain. So, we’re working with best-in-class suppliers to create an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain:
Bob McClaren of 44 Farms and Prime Pursuits is helping us source cattle raised on family farms and ranches.We are also working with Mc6 Cattle Feeders to feed them. Creekstone Farms will process the cattle at their facility, where more than 250 jobs will be created. FPL Foods will operate our case ready packing facility, where the meat gets packaged and sent to our stores, creating an additional 200 plus jobs.

Beef is an important purchase for our customer… it’s likely the most expensive item on their plate and they are treating themselves when they buy it. Creating this supply chain allows us to treat our customers by giving them unprecedented quality and transparency.

Our customers can trust that what they pick up from our meat department will be among the best – and most delicious – meat they can get. Having visibility to the end-to-end process lets us know we are helping our customers bring a consistently great piece of meat to their table every time they buy with us.

We’re proud this supply chain program will help with job creation, and we’re proud to work alongside companies with a strong history in the industry. Together, our beef program can truly change the dynamics of the beef industry.

Source: Walmartwhich is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

 

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