Meat+Poultry - October 2022 - 34

PROCESSOR PROFILE
Lucas Karlin, Prairie Fresh USA Prime product
manager, described the Prairie Fresh endeavor
as a process to establish a brand of bacon
(and other pork products) at a level greatly
in demand by consumers who are looking for
meat products above the commodity level, i.e.,
value-added at a high level.
The project began with fresh pork
production at one plant, with a second plant
eventually coming online, followed by a third
plant, in Guymon, Okla., which is expected
to come online late this year or early 2023 for
fresh pork production.
" With Prairie Fresh USA Prime bacon and
pork products tied together, we knew we'd
be able to produce enough bellies to make
the kinds of bacon we were looking to sell, "
Eaheart explained.
That is largely because the animal
production and the processing are part of
the company's vertically integrated business
model. Seaboard Foods and its connected food
system are the third-largest pork producer in
the United States, and the fourth-largest pork
processor in the industry, processing more
than 6 million hogs a year.
" Seaboard Foods farms produce 7.2 million
hogs a year, and this number doesn't include
the hogs produced by our partner, Triumph
Foods, which produces hogs for the connected
food system, " Eaheart said.
" Today, people
want to have
restaurant
quality food
at home. "
- DAVID EAHEART
The launch of the bacon line has been
part of the overall strategy of Prairie Fresh
USA Prime, which the company considers
specialty products.
" This is in relation to fresh pork for Prairie
Fresh USA Prime. We are expanding fresh
pork into foodservice, but not necessarily
focused on foodservice bacon for the brand, "
Karlin said.
So, Prairie Fresh USA Prime bacon is
sold in boutique supermarkets in New York
City and other regional chains focused on
providing their consumers with high-quality
pork products.
" We have a big footprint in these upscale
stores in full-service cases, as well as
regionalized bacon retailers, " Karlin said. " But
for now, the market is upscale groceries, and
the company is being strategic about where
the products are available. We can say they are
being found in multiple chains across the US. "
PREMIUM PREFERENCE
In creating the Prairie Fresh USA Prime brand,
Seaboard did a lot of research to discover
what the market might be for specific types of
bacon, especially premium bacon coming from
high-end pork. The executives and researchers
discovered there was a demand for these
products, but why now?
" Our consumer research data showed there
was a trend, a movement toward premium
products, including bacon, " Eaheart said.
" Our findings showed that there's a segment
of consumers looking for top-quality meat
products, from fresh pork to bacon.
" Only a percentage of our fresh pork
qualifies for pork belly processing into this
level of bacon, which definitely is not a
commodity meat product. "
Eaheart noted this trend did not start when
the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the United
States and around the world, but before that.
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