The Farm-To-Fork Experience

Cargill is helping retailers understand the worth of the products they sell — in every sense.

At its most recent Sterling Silver customer summit, held last April in Wichita, Kan., Cargill — an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services — gave its foodser-vice and retail customers an inside look at the processes and commitment behind its premium meats — including visits to a ranch, a cattle auction operation, a feedlot and a processing plant.

Demystifying each link in the supply chain is a key component of the company's approach to those that sell its offerings. "The farm-to-fork tours are part of the overall support, engagement and education that Cargill provides our Sterling Silver Premium Meats customers on an ongoing basis," notes Tammy Bieker, brand manager, Sterling Silver Premium Beef at Cargill's Sterling Silver Premium Meats, in Wichita.

Explains Bieker: "Our brand is based on trust — trust that the eating experience associated with Sterling Silver meat will be tender, juicy and great-tasting every time, guaranteed. We want our retail partners to have that trust and confidence that everyone involved during every step in creating that steak or roast has the same unfailing commitment to the best quality. The best way to instill that confidence is to give them the opportunity to meet the people and see the process firsthand. That is why we decided to offer the farm-to-fork tours."

The recent tour enabled Sterling Silver retail customers to speak to the people directly involved in producing the premium beef offered in their meat departments. Additional features of the customer summit were a presentation from a professor/veterinarian on the beef production industry, as well as presentations on flavor profiles, the beef and pork economic environment and outlook, and breakout sessions in which some customers presented to one another and shared best practices. "Sterling Silver Premium Meats retailers also receive marketing and promotional support from Cargill in an effort to leverage specific product benefits or seasonal sales opportunities (including summer grilling and holiday roasts) for consumers," says Bieker.

The knowledge gained this way ultimately filters down to meat shoppers, she believes. "With this improved understanding of all steps in the process, our customers will have confidence in the product and sharing the story with their [own] customers," observes Bieker. "Consumers may have questions about the origins of their food, how it was produced or even animal welfare issues, and when they ask our Sterling Silver retailers, those partners will be informed in answering those questions about our products."

Such efforts have proved highly popular with Cargill's retail partners. "Farm-to-fork tours have been a big success and are an important part of our customer engagement efforts for Sterling Silver Premium Meats," Bieker says. "Whenever we've taken retailers to visit the various steps throughout the production cycle of our products — including ranches and our processing plants — we always hear extremely positive feedback about how they appreciate the open access and knowledge they gain about how the premium meat they ultimately see in their stores is produced. Retailers tell us that consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from and how it is produced, and our farm-to-fork tours provide retailers with the insight they need to answer consumer questions and reiterate the quality of the meats they are selling."

But don't take just Cargill's word for it. Elden Kimura, director of meat operations at Honolulu-based Times/Big Save Supermarkets, is the very image of a satisfied customer.

When asked about the importance to the retailer of the company's tours and educational efforts, Kimura responds: "First and foremost, it provides the background information on traceability It also provides personal insight on how your involvements within the industry can and do affect your everyday, ail-American small rancher and farmer, as well as exemplifying the personal passion and commitment of everyone involved in the industry. … There is great value in knowing the use of superior genetics, the assurance of the animal's welfare and the universal goal of providing the consumer with the finest wholesome product, [which] is never compromised."

Regarding value for shoppers, "with the recent USDA Country of Origin Labeling ruling, it provides them with the information that they are currently concerned about as far as where the animal was born, raised and harvested," explains Kimura. "It [also] provides the consumer with confidence and assurance that they are getting a quality product that is safe and wholesome to feed their families, and it allows the consumer transparency [of] information."

Aided by such activities, "the Sterling Silver program has been a huge success for our company," asserts Kimura. "We have continually experienced year-over-year gains in both sales and gross profit since the inception."

All in all, the Sterling Silver experience has made Kimura enthusiastic about farm-to-fork access, which he thinks, on the whole, "should be expanded to not only people in the industry, but to the general public," adding, "This could be part of the now popular food tours going on across cities in the U.S., and should not be limited to just the beef industry, but incorporated by all livestock industries."

Buoyed by such enthusiasm, Cargill plans to keep refining its Sterling Silver educational tours in response to retailer feedback. "We … think the kind of access to subject matter experts throughout the production cycle and the visibility to the various stages of production are extremely valuable in our engagement with our retail partners," says Bieker. "We intend to continue providing these tours to our customers and listening to those customers to learn what information and education is most useful to them in helping us define future tours."

"We want our retail partners to have that trust and confidence that everyone involved during every step in creating that steak or roast has the same unfailing commitment to the best quality."

—Tammy Bieker, Cargill's Sterling Silver Premium Meats