Meat+Poultry - January 2023 - 20

COVER STORY
from Teton and anything from SunFed and it's
delivered in four to five days, " Tripician said.
Setting up a nationwide distribution
channel from Dot Foods allows Tripician to
grow the Grass Fed Foods line to a much
wider audience.
SunFed Ranch expects to
become a national player
in the grass-fed business
with the new merger.
" We're really trying to make these
connections and you have to have a bridge all
the way to the consumer and we found that the
best way to get there was to work to build it
ourselves, " he said.
SunFed looks at its business through
the lens of regenerative agriculture, the
constant improvement of vital soil health
principles, and how grazing animals provide
meaningful benefits to the landscapes when
managed appropriately.
The company works with dozens of
ranchers across California and other states in
the West. A few of those ranchers take the final
steps to finish the animal with grass through
the process.
For SunFed, that means no grain, corn
or feedlot.
Now, as the company moves away from
a California regional business to nationwide,
Grass Fed Foods plans to help market the
SunFed meat throughout the process to retain
ownership of every aspect of its process.
Tripician and Byrne talked considerably
about giving choices to existing shoppers.
They both mentioned that people have
many options for organic milk, eggs and other
products but beef still makes up less than 1% of
total sales.
" And it's not because the shopper is not
there. It's because the delivery system hasn't
been developed yet, " Byrne said.
But that's now changing with another
important asset of this new partnership. As of
January 2023, TWR products were being moved
with foodservice redistribution company Dot
Foods. Products featured under the SunFed
Ranch label will begin shipping in February.
" A current customer can now type into their
computer when they're ordering whatever else
they order from Dot, they can order anything
20 MEAT+POULTRY | 01.23 | www.meatpoultry.com
He said having a distribution partner like
this was crucial. At a previous stop working
with similar products at Niman Ranch, the
final product would run through one cold
storage facility.
With Dot, GFF can reach 12 distribution
centers, so its meat can have a greater reach.
Grass Fed Foods will be an additional pallet
added on and Tripician shared that Dot already
has full trucks moving around the United
States with other refrigerated products.
TRUSTED PARTNERS
One of the people helping launch the product is
Kirk Halpern, founder and CEO of Farmers &
Fisherman Purveyors in Atlanta.
Halpern has a proven track record of
developing meat businesses starting with
Buckhead Beef and then building Halperns'
Steak & Seafood into a standout player in
the space.
He's now taken on all the challenges
presented during COVID-19 and continues to
push forward into 2023.
" Through our combined work with Farmers
& Fisherman and Teton Waters Ranch we're
going to create the demand, " Halpern said
of the Grass Fed Foods. " Our customer base
is predominately comprised of the thought
leaders in culinary within our marketing area.
If we take what will be set up to be a great
program with all the positive attributes that
Trip and his team are going to deliver, we
believe we can take that to the marketplace
and rely on our expertise but validate it with
their own taste buds. "
Halpern worked extensively with Tripician
and Amanda Duran at Niman Ranch and
was always satisfied with the outcomes for
business and clients. So even before Grass
Fed Foods took purchase orders, Halpern was
happy to put one down because he trusted
the relationship.
" I don't do that with anybody, but I do that
with Trip because of my complete confidence
in him and in the program that he's going to
develop, " Halpern said.
Third Street
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Meat+Poultry - January 2023

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