RBC Small Business of the Year 2008

Congratulations Dean Andres, Pieter Spinder, and Kelly Long of Carmen Creek Gourmet Meats

New Prairie Gold Found in Carmen Creek

By J. Lynn Fraser

Who could resist the 'fields of golden grain, crisp northern air, and clean sparkling water' that Carmen Creek Gourmet Meats has been delivering in the form of grade A bison meat products since 2002?

While today the company's co-founders Dean Andres, Pieter Spinder, and Kelly Long estimate their 2008 sales will reach $13 million, just a few years ago bison meat was an unknown quality for consumers and the industry as a whole was in trouble.

"No one was doing a great job at marketing bison products. We thought we should step up to the plate and support it," says Long. "In the past there was no branding, no attention to quality, and no service to the meat buyer," adds Andres. Other companies had tried and failed to market bison meat products.

As with any entrepreneurial venture there is risk. "We went in under capitalized and we paid a lot of tuition over the years," Long admits wryly noting that none of the co-founders had experience in the meat business. Family was a great support during the early years.

"Do your research," advises Long. "We're not afraid to admit we don't know something and will ask people who have more experience than us." Focus groups, for example, were done with chefs and with food suppliers to solicit their opinions about how to market bison meat and what support suppliers needed.

The co-founders' lack of experience turned out to be an asset. Unlike their more traditional competitors Carmen Creek was willing to break with traditional approaches to raising livestock and processing meat.

"We embrace new technology," Andres notes. "There used to be an adversarial relationship between livestock packers and ranchers. We felt that for producers to improve they needed more information back about their product. The company's computerized tracking system lets ranchers compare weight, yield, age, fat colour, rate of gain, and stock origins."

All ranchers working with Carmen Creek adhere to the company's strict protocols as well as industry standards. The ethical treatment of animals, guaranteed food safety, and the promise of being antibiotic and hormone free are part of company's branding and the quality of its product.

"Ten years ago people didn't talk about these issues. Now there is a realization of its importance to consumers and buyers like Whole Foods," Andres observes.

Custom designed marketing materials and a user-friendly website reinforce the company's brand message in restaurants and in grocery chains like Whole Foods, in the United States, and Safeway, in western Canada. When Carmen Creek's parent company acquired Grande Prairie Bison Company in 2008 Carmen Creek's reach expanded to Europe.

The RBC Small Business of the Year 2008 award means "validation that we're doing something right," says Long. "It will open some doors for us and for the bison industry as well," observes Andres.

Carmen Creek's success is due to the co-founders' painstaking attention to detail to every aspect of the production process from field to flyer to family dinner.

For more information about Carmen Creek Gourmet Meats go to: http://www.carmencreek.com/