Selling a Premium Beef Product
to Informed Consumers
Would you be willing to pay $24 per pound (lb.) for steak? That’s the question Chad Mackay asked producers attending the Range Beef Cow Symposium (RBCS) as it kicked off Dec. 3 in Rapid City, S.D. Despite cold temperatures and snowy weather, about 500 people were in attendance for the first day of the three-day symposium. The biennial event is co-hosted by South Dakota State University, Colorado State University, the University of Wyoming and the University of Nebraska.
Mackay’s presentation focused on selling premium beef to consumers. He is president and COO of El Gaucho Hospitality, a family business his father started in 1997 that today consists of five high-end restaurants in Washington and Oregon.
Mackay told producers that selling a 6-oz. steak for $60-$70 is his job. From that perspective he said, “If we want to continue to have high beef prices, someone’s got to sell it. So, what we — high-end restaurants — do should matter to your business.”
El Gaucho COO Chad Mackay encouraged producers to know what kind of end product their cattle produce, to learn more about distribution channels, and to find regional restaurants they might connect with to supply beef.
Mackay noted that El Gaucho’s five restaurants do $30 million in annual revenues and have 350 employees. Since they started in 1997, they have focused on selling Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) that is dry-aged and cooked using charcoal. In 2001, they moved to CAB Prime with much of their product, and in 2012, they began purchasing Niman Ranch CAB, which is a natural product. They also added Wagyu beef to their menus this year.
Mackay said training and education of their staff is integral to getting customers to spend top dollar for a quality steak. New hires at El Gaucho’s restaurants spend three weeks in training before they get tables. Chefs and managers also attend CAB annual conferences and workshops to enhance their industry knowledge. El Gaucho staff attend ranch tours, and the company has hosted events with cattle for staff and the media to further build knowledge about the care that goes into producing premium beef.
In his closing remarks, Mackay shared that he believes “branded beef is here to stay.” He said his ultimate goal would be to source beef from just a few ranches so he could specifically tell his restaurant patrons from which ranches the beef he serves comes.
“They do want to know where it comes from,” he said.
He encouraged producers to know what kind of end product their cattle produce, to learn more about distribution channels, and to find regional restaurants they might connect with to supply beef — and their story.
For more about the El Gaucho restaurants, read this recent article in the Angus Journal: www.angusjournal.com/aj_article.html?cid=9848.
