Organic meat dream a team challenge!

Presentation plan •  History  •  Who  we  are  •  How  did  everything  started  •  Mission-­‐vision-­‐value  •  Product  •  Marke9ng  •  Promo9on  tools  •  Customer  descrip9on  and  rela9onship  •  Distribu9on  and  partnership  •  Inspira9on  •  Employee  and  external  help  •  Strategic  decision  •  Challenge  

• Family run business (second generation) • Organic agriculture for 30 years • Funder : Hans Buecheli, Rhein valley native • Immigration in 1978 from Switzerland • Pionner in organic farming • Passionate about organic agriculture- hand and knowledge concerning is trade

History of the company

Viandes RHEINTAL Meat  

 

Organic since 1984

210 acres in organic culture

Organic livestock • 60 head finish beef (contract 200 beef) • 700 head finish pork with 50 sows (contract 200 pork)

Organic field’s crop

3

•  Finish pork and beef on litter •  Access to pasture 8 month / years •  Fed only certified organic food •  No hormones and antibiotics •  We  use  natural  products  such  as  apple  

cider  vinegar  with  garlic  and  seaweed  as  a  preven9ve  measure.

Description of the livestock mix breeding beef and pork

Organic beef (finished)

Organic pork (farrow to finish)

6

Meat processing •  Superficies:  5000  square  feet  •  We  do  everything,  except  for  slaughter  •  About  3000  to  4000  pounds  fresh  and  frozen  meat  /  week  

•  About  650  pounds  deli  meat  /  week  

Who we are? We  are  very  complementary  in  our  personality    and  we  developed  an  

essen9al  common  interest  of  organic  farming  

•  Sébastien Angers      - Agronomy - Expertise in organic farming - In charge of field’s crops and livestock  

•  Guylaine Buecheli  

2  

How did it start and why?  •  Difference between organic meat and

conventional meat

•  Make a difference for a high quality meat

•  No idea on how to cut and process meat

•  Research on the web to learn all there was to know about different parts of animal

•  Working in butchery

How did it start and why?

•  Open  a  stand  at  Jean  Talon  Market:  huge  open  market  in  Montreal.  It  is  a  real  jungle  for  liWle  producers  like  us.  

 •  First  contact  

•  Learned  the  importance  between  consumers  and  products.  

 

How did it start and why?  

•  Knock  at  the  doors  of  every  shop  

•  It  felt  as  though  I  was  raising  awareness  ,  rather  than  selling  my  product.  

•  Slowly,  word  started  to  catch  on  about  organic  meat  and  hard  work  paid  off  

Mission:            Offer  organic,  high  quality  meat  to  the  consumers  who  are  

concerned  about  not  only  their  health  but  also  health  and  well-­‐being  of  the  planet  and  the  animals.  

 Vision:              Establish  an  organic,  family  oriented  company,  which  integrates  the  

opera9ons  of  culture,  breeding,  marke9ng  and  processing  of  organic  meats.    

   

Business  plan:      •   Helps  keeping  our  business  on  track.    •   Helps  monitor  the  progress  and  the  profitability    •   Helps  adjust  the  planning.  

Value:      •  Authen9city            Stay  authen9c  to  who  we  are,  and  what  we  represent  as  a  company  and  

individuals.  We  will  stay  genuine  and  authen9c  in  every  task  we  undertake.  

•  Dis9nc9on              A  strong  desire  and  an  innova9ve  spirit,  which  constantly  pushes  us  to  discover  

new,  improved,  and  more  effec9ve  ways  of  doing  things.  

•  Durability  “We  do  not  inherit  the  earth  from  our  parents,  we  borrow  it  from  our  children”  Antoine  St-­‐Exupéry    

       Respec9ng  the  environment  through  proper  agricultural  prac9ces  equates  respec9ng  the  future  genera9ons,  who  have  no  choice  but  to  inhabit  the  world  we  leave  behind  for  them.  

Product  All  organic  and  gluten  free  

•  Fresh  meat  :  Beef,  pork,  veal        Sell  whole,  halves,  quarter  and  detail  

•  Fresh  deli  product:  ham,  sausages,  pâté,  creton…    •  Prepared  meals:  meatball,  spaghed  sauce,  meat  pies…    

                         

•   Dried  deli  meat:  new  since  5  month    • Prosciutto

• Lonzo • Saucisson (dried sausages) • Salami • Rosette de lyon • Etc….

                 Product  All  organic  and  gluten  free  

200 SCU High-end cuts, deli meat sold restaurant and fine butcher shop Ground beef big seller on retail store

Retail outlet

40%  

30%  

16%  

6%  8%  

Direct-­‐to-­‐consumer    

Natural  food  store    

Conven9onal  food  store    

Restaurant    

Fine  butcher  shops  and  delicatessen    

Direct-­‐to-­‐consumer  (40%)  •  Food  and  farmer’s  market  •  Direct  on  the  farm  (Stand)  •  Web  site  (Base  on  400  homes)  

 Ø  Useful tool to promote our product

Ø  Best investment

     Natural  food  store  (30%)  

•  Over 80 stores

Conven9onal  food  store  (16%)  

•  Over  20  stores  •  Listed  Sobeys  (IGA)  since  3  months  

Restaurant  (6%)  

Fine  butcher  shop  and  delicatessen  (8%)  

•  Mostly top of the range •  Working closely with chef

This one is going to increase a lot in the next few years with our new dried deli product.

Promotion tools  •  Many  exhibi9on  shows,  food  fairs  and  food  markets:  excellent  

places  to  meet    buyers    and  understand  their  requirement  and  let  them  know  that  your  are  in  the  market.  

•  Word  of  mouth  •  Brochures,  pamphlets  and  Shelf-­‐talker  •  In-­‐store  demo:  Contact  with              consumers  and  have  direct  feedback  

•  Facebook  and  twiWer:    Ø   Publish  up  date  or  news.    Ø  Consumers  love  to  connect                and  know  more.  

Customers description  •  Customer  who  are  caring  for  there  health  and  have  an  environmental  preoccupa9on  

•  The  European  customers  who  are  ahead  of  us  in  organics  and  therefore  demand  it  

•  Younger  couples  with  children  who  want  the  healthy  benefits  of  organic  products.  

•  The  ethnic  customers      •  Surprisingly  some  of  our  customers  are  vegetarians!    

Relationship with customers •  Establish  and  maintain  a  strong  rela9onship  with  our  customers  

•  Consumers  are  increasing  looking  for  a  shopping  experience  such  as:  mee9ng  the  farmer  and  connec9ng  with  producers  of  their  foods    

•  Delivering  what  is  expected  of  us:  a  consistent  supply  of  consistent  quality  product  

•  Raising  awareness  and  believing  in  our  product  with  passion  is  the  key  for  us.          

Partnership  We  created  a  partnership  with  Viandes  MorrisseWe  

conven9onal  meat  butchery    

•  We  hold  30%  of  the  business.    •  We  have  Access  to  a  large  team.  In  one  day,  we  can  cut  a  large  amount  of  meat  ready  to  be  delivered  on  the  next  day.      

•  Secure  our  price  for  the  cuts.    

Investment 2012 (commercial  kitchen  and  dryer)  

Ø  Extension to Viandes Morissette Ø  Provincial expected plan

Inspiration

•  Mostly  Switzerland  and  France  

•  Studied  in  Auvergne,  France  •  Switzerland  butcher  came  

in  Quebec  for    2  months  •  Colorado  for  jerky  

Distribution •  We  own  one  refrigerated  truck  in  partnership:  home  and  store  delivering  twice  a  week  

•  Distributor  for  farther  region:  Ga9neau  and  Lauren9de  

•  IGA  banner:  We  deliver  at  distribu9on  center  and  dispatch  to  their  store  

Employee      It  is  very  important  for  us  that  our  employees  are  engaged  and  commiWed  to  the  

organiza9on  and  to  feel  like  they  are  part  of  the  team.      

The  farm  employs  5  peoples    •  1  administra9ve  assistant  •  1  in  the  deli  sec9on  and  sausage  making    •  1  packager  •  1  drivers  (delivery  man)  •  1  farm  hand          Viandes  MorrisseWe  makes  the  butchery                                                                      8  employees  

External Help  Surrounded  and  inspired  by  like-­‐minded  people  

•  Deli  meat  consultant:  helped  us  develop  deli  product  in  order  to  respect  organic  cer9fica9on    and  MAPAQ    requirement.  

 •  Business  coaching:  helped  us  improve  our  skills,  facilitate  our  

decision-­‐making  and  take  our  business  to  the  next  level    

 

   

 

   

Big challenge to be spouse, business partners and parent

Focusing on our strengths and talents

Communication, respect and listening are crucial

Constantly evolving

External Help

Understand the strengths and weaknesses and establish definition of roles in the business

•  Personal  coaching  

•  La  Financière  agricole:  Government  ins9tu9on  that  offers  guaranteed  loans  and  crop  insurance  

•  SADC  and  CLD:  Non-­‐profit  organiza9on  that  promotes  and  works  to  strengthen  innova9on,  business  and  community  economic  development.    

External Help Surrounded and inspired by like-minded people

Strategic decision    

•  Centraliza9on  of  all  our  opera9on  in  a  same  place:  less  waste  of  9me  and  beWer  communica9on  between  department.  

•  Hired  a  key  person  at  the  food  processing  to  manage  that  department:  more  9me  for  marke9ng  and  R&D  

•  Targeted  realis9c  growth  objec9ves  and  oriented  on  the  effec9veness  of  the  opera9on.  

Strategic decision  

•  Knowing  our  produc9on  costs,  making  an  annual  budget    and  a  9ght  follow-­‐up  of  our  finance  by  consul9ng  expert  

•  BeWer  logis9c  and  distribu9on:  Geographic  advantage  facilitate  our  shipping  &  receiving  and  reduce  our  cost  of  distribu9on  

•  Associa9on  and  partnership  

Challenges  •  Management  of  the  growth  business  and  cash  flow:  

1.  Collec9ng  receivables  quickly  2.  Increasing  sales  by  selling  more  to  exis9ng  

customers  3.  Reduce  inventory  purchases  4.  Tightening  credit  5.  Long-­‐term  amor9ze  loan  6.  Tracking  our  cash  flow  results  monthly  7.  Making  regularly  cash  flow  projec9on  

Challenges  

•  Find  organic  pork  and  beef  suppliers  who  respect  the  same  conduct  as  us  

•  Find  financing  and  subven9on  •  Find  more  retail  outlet:  Looking  further  to  developing  the  organic  market  

•  Dealing  with  loses  of  fresh  meat:  develop  high  value  added  product  with  the  trim  and  lower  quality  cuts.  

Challenges  

•  Developing  a  brand  and  product  strategy:  We  are  working  closely  with  a  crea9ve  team  

•  Developing  dried  deli  meat  and  expand  our  prepared  meal  line  

 

Challenges  •  Find  qualified  employee  

•  Improving  the  efficiency,  accuracy  and  cost  effec9veness  in  all  ac9vi9es    of  the  business  such  as:  

Customer  service  or  supply  chain  

Increasing  efficiency  on  the  farm  we  invested  in:  

Grain mills we renovated for a swine nursery Levelling land

Efficiency  in  organic  pork  pasture  produc9on  

We had to learn how to do by trying and doing mistake Pasture design & intensive rotation

CONCLUSION •  Teamwork  

•  Surrounded  with  people  beWer  than  us  and  complementary  talent  

•  Crea9ng  network  •  Keep  on  the  lookout  for  opportuni9es  and  communicate  

•  Learn  to  know  ourselves,  believing  in  ourselves  and  be  flexible  about  changes  

•  PASSION,  PERSISTENCE,  TENACITY  

Thanks