From Nose to Tail: Selling Every Part of the Cow
Overview
To give Farmers a nose to tail checklist on minimizing waste and selling all parts of the cow. In many cases Farmers can move more products than they realize, simply by packaging, bundling, re-naming and branding ‘unpopular’ or less familiar items. This guide should put Farmers back in the driver’s seat when it comes to maximizing profit(s) per animal.
Why Should you Sell Every Part of the Cow?
To maximize your return! Many Farmers may not be aware of increasing Buyer interest and comfort with all parts of the cow. Even for Buyers who default to their favorite cuts and beef products, you can still market your beef byproducts in an attractive way to procure more sales. In other words, instead of losing the ‘less popular’ parts of the cow in the bowels of your freezer, first consider if you can turn those products’ into a ‘win’ for your business. There are countless ways to package unpopular parts to entice buyers to try something new.
Read on for your nose-to-tail checklist to minimize waste and sell all parts of the cow. You can move more products than you might realize, simply by packaging, bundling, re-naming and branding ‘unpopular’ or less familiar items in new ways.
Selling Beef Bundles
Our most successful Farmers and Ranchers are crushing it with Beef Bundles. Essentially a ‘Farmer’s Choice’ box of meat --- Beef Bundles can help your Farm move a variety of cuts and parts in one purchase (and increase your average order value). Successful Farms pair high-demand cuts and/or ground beef with lesser known cuts, to entice Buyers to purchase their go-to items while also introducing them to other parts of the cow. Farmers encourage them by including recipes, or by educating them on social media and in newsletters about all the great cuts! As customers try new items, it increases their likelihood of future purchases of these niche products.
Consider offering Beef Bundles as a monthly Subscription --- this is a great way to generate recurring revenue for your Farm, while moving all parts of the cow. With Subscriptions, Buyers are especially happy as they have consistent access to high demand beef products while also trying something new!
Consider marketing Beef Bundles in a way that makes them approachable to Buyers. A Dinner or Breakfast Box will be attractive for Buyers who may not know how to use everything included in the bundle. A ‘Premium’ Beef Grillers Box will create a sense of FOMO for customers that believe the included products are the most popular and likely to sell out. “Slow Cooker” Bundles can make dinner simple for Buyers who are low on time, so marketing the kit as an easy throw-in-the-crockpot dinner can secure sales.
Farmer Clint in Illinois offers a Beef “Sampler” Box, to give customers a ‘sample’ of what they may receive if they are considering a Bundle Box Subscription. This package includes ground beef, burgers, steaks, a roast and stew meat. Rancher Frankie in Washington offers a similar mix, but in a variety sizes — small (1-2 person), medium (3-4 people) and large (5-6) — so Buyers can gauge what works best for their household. Make sure to list the likely ‘mix’ of products that are included in each box, so Buyers know what to expect and can plan ahead.
Selling Subscriptions or “Herd Shares”
To build a strong base of recurring revenue, offer Subscriptions for Buyers to receive your products on a monthly basis. Depending on your State, you may need to sell products as a “Herd Share.” In either case, you can regularly move more cows throughout the year, when offering Subscriptions or Herd Shares to your local Buyers. This can work especially well if you have regular butcher dates and want to commit (X) number of cows per date.
A Subscription or Herd Share can be configured to allow consumers to commit to part of a cow (paying upfront, or pay-as-you-go), often a half or whole cow, over multiple fulfillments (aka delivery or pickup dates). Over that period of time, Buyers get a box of mixed beef until those boxes ‘add up’ to a half or whole, aka their Subscription or Herd Share.
We often see Farmers offering a 12-month Subscription or Herd Share. Large boxes may ‘add up’ to a whole cow over the course of a year, while Medium boxes may add up to a half cow, and Small boxes to 1/4 of a cow. Importantly, Buyers receive a monthly box with beef cuts that ‘add up’ to their share of the cow over the course of a year. For your Farm, this is great for planning out inventory and butcher dates while enjoying consistent revenue.
Selling Beef Bones & Beef Bone Broth
Beef bones have the potential to be a regular item from your Farm store. Consider, most of your Buyers already purchase soup or beef stock. It’s not a big jump then, to buy locally sourced “Bone Broth” from your Farm. You may consider selling Beef Bones for DIYers who want to make their own broth. Bone Broth can be sold at a premium, and for those who prefer to pay for ready-to-go Bone Broth Kits, add in the typical veggies to make stock (onion, celery, carrot) for a value-added Bone Broth Kit!
Selling Other Beef Byproducts
Consider adding any of these other products to your store to move more cow!
Beef Sticks, Jerky and Snacks
With steaks, ground beef and roasts, you are already squarely competing for the dinner plate. You can expand your offering into the ‘snack’ genre of foods by offering Beef Sticks, Beef Jerky and other Snacks (we’ve even started seeing Beef Chips!). You can readily market these as healthy grab-and-go snacks for everyone, as toddler snacks, travel snacks or lunchbox tuck-ins. Who wouldn’t love this?
Dog Treats
Nowadays, people are willing to spend top-dollar to give their pets nutritious, sustainably raised food as opposed to conventional pet food. Dog food may include Beef organs such as liver, kidney, heart and lung for added nutrients for animals (while taking out corn and soy which may affect dogs with allergies and sensitivities). Sell bones (such as knuckle, thigh or neck bones) as dog treats. Avoid selling cooked bones or vertebrae as treats, as these can potentially harm animals. Raw, meaty bones are the best options for dogs!
We have seen Farms offering raw protein blends with a mix of beef products, then outlining the health benefits. Consider offering dog food and treats as a Subscription for recurring purchase. Pet owners already routinely buy dog food; why not make it easy to buy from your Farm (in addition to all their ‘for the people’ orders!)?
Ground Beef
This isn’t so much a ‘byproduct’ but is worth a special mention, as ground beef is a great way to move older cows, encourage larger orders and use up less popular cuts. If you have a hard time moving cube steak or roasts (watch purchase trends), then have the butcher turn it into ground beef. If you have an older cow, maximize the ground beef per animal (add pork or beef fat up to a 30% ratio for best outcomes).
Ground beef is the product Buyers are most comfortable with, making it the easiest to move. Make sure all their ground beef is bought from your Farm --- they should never have to supplement with grocery store beef! Offer bulk discounts on one-time purchases or smaller ongoing subscriptions per household.
Many Farmers we work with offer 10 LB, 20 LB and 50 LB boxes of ground beef for one-time purchase(s). Besides including ground beef in their mixed beef bundles boxes (along with steaks, roasts etc.), we see many Farmers successfully offering a simple 5 LB, 10 LB or 20 LB ground beef subscription (weekly or monthly). Another creative avenue is ground beef “Burger Boxes,” assorted in various quantities (4, 8, 12, 20, etc), making your beef easy to put on the barbecue. For more value-add, consider a rub or sauce to go with the Burger Box.
Marrow
Many successful Farmers sell ‘Marrow Bundles’ and entice Buyers with the nutritional qualities and ease of cooking this ‘beef butter delicacy’ that goes for top-dollar at high end restaurants. Beef Marrow is a great add to bundles or sold as-is. Hint: ask your butcher to cut them in ‘canoe cuts’ so it is super easy for your customers to scoop out the marrow once cooked!
Tallow
Tallow is climbing the popularity ladder! DIYers and health conscious people are scrambling to get their hands on tallow, to replace products laden with chemicals. Tallow is incredibly versatile and approachable, used for everything from neutral cooking oil (with a high smoking point) to soap, lotions, balms and candles.
If you add ideas, recipes and customer testimonials in your newsletters and on social media --- in a pinch link to influencers --- you will be well on your way to being a local source for Tallow. An entrepreneurial North Carolina Farm sells their Rendered Tallow in Quarts and Pints, to give customers options that are best suited to their needs. Don’t forget to consider frugal DIY Buyers who will gladly pay a little less for bulk Tallow and render it themselves!
As you know, tallow, also known as beef suet or fat, can be sold in premade body butters or balms as a premium value-added product. Consider creating a Self-Care Bundle with snacks (beef sticks!) and Tallow skincare as a gift-giving option. These can be especially popular around holidays, or as a giveaway product when hosting promotional events online or in-person.
Tripe
Rich in protein and low in fat, Cow Stomach, also known as Tripe, is a staple in most cuisines and cultures around the world. At a minimum you could consider selling Tripe to ethnic or chef-owned restaurants, speciality grocers and butchers. There are three main types of tripe derived from different stomach compartments: honeycomb tripe (omasum), smooth tripe (reticulum), and flat tripe (abomasum).
Organ Meat
Organ Meat (liver, kidney and heart) may be intimidating to some Buyers. Interestingly, it is difficult to source for many Buyers seeking a high-protein diet (aka high demand). This may take extra upfront groundwork, but targeting the right Buyer might hook them in for the long-haul. Chefs, chef-wannabees, butchers, anyone on the carnivore diet train, and people-building-muscles / working out at gyms are all great targets! For the right Buyer, these nutrient-dense, powerhouse meats are the ideal purchase. Tap into Buyer demand, and get in front of it (online and off-line).
Carnivore Blends (or Ancestral Blends) are becoming more popularized for being packed with nutrients and vitamins found in various organs in a cow, including heart, kidneys and liver. These organs are typically combined with ground beef (general rule of thumb: 30% organs, 70% ground beef), packaged, then sold at a premium. Sell as a one-time purchase, in bulk or with regular ground beef, and / or include in a monthly Beef Bundle Box. Note, It is not uncommon for Carnivore Blends to be sold a 20%-30% premium over regular ground beef!
Marketing your Beef Products
Many Buyers are familiar with steaks, ground beef and other primal cuts. However, when you are trying to move a whole cow through your store with various products, some of which may not be mainstream, you must educate Buyers as to why they should expand their beef repertoire!
Throughout the blog we have given marketing tips to help assemble your packages and product offerings, to build FOMO, trying single boxes and offering subscriptions. Consider featuring a “Product of the Week” on your social media or in your newsletters, to give a spotlight on an item that customers may not know your Farm offers (and should try before it sells out!). Partner with local influencers and businesses to collaborate on marketing efforts with premium products, like Tallow, Marrow or Carnivore Blend.
Adding lesser-known items in Bundle Boxes or as Subscription Add-ons may influence Buyers to try something new that they wouldn’t have purchased on its own. Offer various Bundle Box and Subscription sizes that will fit the needs of various households, such as a 1-2 person, 3-4 person and / or a 5-6 person box. Partner with other Farms for Broth-Making Kits or Crock Pot Bundles to include necessary produce or dairy products that will make the purchase even more convenient for Buyers.
Consider sharing recipes on social media and in your newsletters for Buyers to get inspired on how to use their bones for soup or marrow. And, encourage existing customers to post reviews and results! You can then re-share their testimonials.
Conclusion
Why not try it? Take on the nose-to-tail challenge to see if you can expand your profit margin per cow! Adding value around lesser-known products and packaging high-demand items into Bundles or Subscriptions will help you move more items. Target Buyers who may already be seeking unique items, like a Carnivore Blend, and offer products like Beef Jerky or Beef Sticks that are lunch box contenders and a great grab-and-go snack.
Ensure you are educating customers on all the benefits of your sustainably-raised products online (through socials and email) and in-person (at markets and on-Farm events). You’ve got this!
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.