Find Your Niche

Image Gallery Courtesy American Gelbvieh Association

We humans are a diverse lot and when it comes to beef, we definitely want it our way. But where does all that focused food come from? Thanks to the fact that more than 70 breeds of cattle have been introduced to the United States through the years, many of today’s beef producers are putting that genetic diversity to good use to provide one of the safest and healthiest forms of protein exactly the way you want it.

Finding a niche in the cattle business means serving a unique group of consumers. Niche market producers differentiate themselves by fulfilling a particular need that’s usually overlooked by the mainstream. A niche must offer a difference people are willing to pay for. These days in the beef industry, most value-added differences include words like lean, natural, organic, healthy or environmentally friendly.

Keep It Lean

Let’s start with lean beef. Due to health concerns, many consumers prefer reduced-fat meat. Sellers using the term lean on their labels must verify fat content through laboratory tests. One lean beef production and marketing program is Laura’s Lean Beef (www.LaurasLeanBeef.com). Started in 1985 by Laura Freeman, Laura’s Lean is an all-natural, branded beef company dedicated to supporting family farms. Laura’s suppliers produce lean beef from lean, heavily muscled cattle raised on natural feeds without added growth hormones or antibiotics.

Laura’s Lean has relationships with the American breed associations for several imported continental European breeds, such as Limousin and Charolais (from France), Simmental (Switzerland, France and Germany), and Gelbvieh (Germany). The Piedmontese (Italy) and Belgian Blue (Belgium) breeds, both famous for their “double muscling,” are also obvious choices for the Laura’s Lean program.

Greener Beef

Some consumers are more concerned with how their beef is classified regardless of fat content. Certifications such as all-natural and organic are gaining market share. In the case of all-natural, the product’s label must explain the use of the term natural, and production methods must be documented through a protocol approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Coleman Natural Meats (www.ColemanNatural.com) is the nation’s largest producer of certified all-natural beef. They contract with hundreds of ranchers throughout the West to produce beef without hormones or antibiotics.