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Nolan Ryan Beef continues to build markets

published: December 10th 2010
by: Martha Hollida Garrett

Ten years ago Nolan Ryan Beef (NRB) opened its doors for business with a product that featured the influence of American breeds of cattle and one grocery store chain as a customer. Today the company has expanded its product lines, and has multiple marketing outlets. American breeds of cattle, and particularly Beef-master influenced cattle, are still the primary source of genetics for the company, which continues to be the only branded beef company that encourages American breeds of cattle. “We understand that Bos indicus breeding is needed from an environment standpoint for cattle herds across the south and we are here to support that segment of the cattle industry. These genetics greatly fit the markets we’ve created,” explains Charlie Brad-bury, NRB chief executive officer. Most of the beef product marketed by NRB falls in the Select range, which is traditionally a leaner product and also fits household budgets better, especially in the current economic downturn of the past 18 months. “There are considerably more people looking for lean beef today than there were when we opened our doors ten years ago. Then most people were still placing a higher priority for marbling over lean, but we have seen that change and our product was designed to appeal to those wanting lean, yet have a consistent, guaranteed tender eating experience,” explains Bradbury, adding that they have seen demand increase for their products over the past year, as consumers became more cost conscious and have found the product is tasty, tender and easier on their grocery budget. Their product line is known as “Nolan Ryan’s Guaranteed Tender Beef ” and includes some very strict specifications as follows: •Cattle are raised on natural grasslands with their mothers until weaning. Until they weigh approximately 800 pounds, they are typically raised on grass and pastureland. During the feeding stage, cattle are placed in licensed cattle feeding facilities that follow strict feeding protocols. •During the final growth stages, they are fed a diet of high quality grains grown by local farmers. No meat by-products are fed to the cattle. A consistent diet in the last months of growth help to ensure consistent beef quality. Horseback riders check cattle daily to ensure their comfort and health. •Growth-enhancing hormones are forbidden during the last 100 days of feeding. Cattle are re-moved that have received an antibiotic within 100 days of harvest: far exceeding FDA's 30-day withdrawal. While not re-quired, NRB has a third-party food safety laboratory conduct regular testing to monitor compliance and to be sure their protocols are tightly enforced. Regular audits of every aspect of the program are conducted to make sure that the highest standards are maintained. • The products are minimally processed and free from any additives. Preser-vatives are forbidden in any of their beef and the product is never pumped or injected with water or other solutions. Initially, the beef was marketed through Ran-dall’s Tom Thumb chains, primarily in the Houston area, as they were an independently owned chain at that time, prior to selling to Safeway. In 2001 NRB reached an agreement with Kroger for exclusive marketing rights for their division, which included stores in the Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, Shreveport, Lake Charles and surrounding areas. Today this includes over 200 stores that have NRB in a segment of their meat case. In 2008 the company added another signature line, “Nolan Ryan’s Premium Reserve Beef”. This product is 100% free of antibiotics and hormones and features all cattle that are raised in the United States. “This is what the industry refers to as “Never Ever” product. Our Guaranteed Tender did not fit this market and neither did our supply of cattle. So we have developed this line using cattle primarily out of the Midwest and it’s a niche market for Kroger stores that we are able to meet,” says Bradbury. The company added Super S Food Stores as a customer in 2006 and this has proved to be a very successful addition, as it includes 55 locally owned stores in towns of 5,000 or less population. “In Kroger stores, we are a niche market. We make up a small part of the meat case and we are not in every store. In Super S Food Stores, we are the supplier for the whole meat case which has created great visibility for us,” says Bradbury. “Super S was our first customer to really grasp the marketing potential of our product. They have done a great job of branding a locally raised high quality beef product represented by a very popular Texas Icon. They are smaller than many of the big chains but they are very good at what they do,” Bradbury adds. The company recently added Sun Harvest Foods as a retail customer. Sun Harvest stores are located in San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Lubbock and El Paso and all of the beef they sell is Nolan Ryan Beef. 2008 also marked the company’s entry into the food service industry, as they began providing ground beef to select restaurants and food service providers. “We are selling our products to most of the major Food Service distributors in Texas and we have several multi-unit customers including Chaps Hamburger Cafes in the DFW area, Novrozsky’s Hamburgers in the Beau-mont area and 33 Black-eyed Pea restaurants across Texas. You can find our steaks and burgers in countless individually own-ed restaurants across the state as well,” explains Bradbury. In addition, they have developed a number of processed products, like fully cooked beef patties, which are sold in the frozen cases of Target, Kroger, Albertson, Super S and some independent stores. Their smoked beef sausage products, which come in a variety of flavors, are marketed through several retailers. NRB is also the official beef product at Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and received several major network press mentions during the Rangers World Series Run this fall. “We also have developed an online sales unit and our exposure through the Texas Rangers has really increased our traffic there. We have even placed ads in USA Today to promote this,” adds Bradbury. The company has supply agreements with four feedlots in Texas for its Guaranteed Tender products and continues to source all cattle from Sam Kane Beef, Corpus Christi, Texas , which works with the four feedlots. Cattle for the Premium Reserve program are sourced through National Beef at their Dodge City, Kansas plant. “We buy all our beef from the packing houses that have agreed to meet our specifications and we work with the feedlots that supply the two packing houses to see that our production specifications are met,” says Bradbury. NRB takes cattle that have up to, but no more than 50% Bos indicus influence in their breeding for the Guaranteed Tender program. Currently the program averages around 1,200 head per week. “We think we have had an impact on demand for cattle in the southern region of the country. We see our company as one that creates a pull through demand for American breeds by adding value to cattle that meet our specifications,” concludes Brad-bury.