‘America wants beef:’ How Omaha Steaks is overhauling its business as prices soar

Courtesy Omaha Steaks

Omaha Steaks, the pioneering meat delivery company, has been around for over a century. But if it wants to survive amid record-high beef prices, the company has to become speedier, leaner and offer cheaper cuts.

That’s the direction CEO Nate Rempe is taking the 109-year-old company, with an overhaul that slashes its listed offerings by 75% to focus the business on its selection of US-grown meats. Under his plan, unveiled Thursday, the company will double its retail footprint over the next two years, part of an ambitious effort to displace the grocery store as people’s first choice for beef.

“American consumers are getting worn out by the cost of lots of different proteins — beef being included,” Rempe told CNN. “We shrink down our assortment and focus on the things that matter.”

The changes, however, are happening at time when the size of American cattle herds are at their lowest levels in 75 years and prices are soaring. That has prompted President Donald Trump to allow 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to enter the US duty-free until November 30 in an attempt to lower prices — a move that’s disappointing to Rempe.

“It’s a talking point. It’s not a meaningful solution for American consumers,” he said.

Rempe recommends that US ranchers, who have been dealing with drought conditions and rising feed prices for over a decade , need “incentives to make investments to bring the herd size up.”

Prices — and demand — have soared over the past three years, with consumers paying 27% more for all kinds of beef, including ground and veal, according to the July Consumer Price Index data.

Although sales for cheaper meats like chicken and pork has also risen in recent years, Rempe said, it’s not enough to satisfy America’s insatiable appetite for cows.

“America wants beef. It’s why the demand has been so durable because there is not a replacement product,” he said. “You can’t take the steak off the middle of a plate and throw a chicken breast in the middle of that and get the same outcome.”

Omaha Steaks hasn’t raised prices yet, except for its premium offerings of filet mignon and tenderloin. Instead, the company is heavily promoting cheaper cuts of meat, like its top sirloin .

Rempe said it’s as tender as a filet mignon and a “great option for a customer who’s really feeling the pressure on their wallet.” (Prices start at $40 for 4 steaks, which is half the amount of a filet mignon package.)

Omaha Steaks is also taking a butcher knife to its selection and reducing the items it sells from nearly 500 to 120. Some of their desserts, slow cooker meals and single-serve options are getting the axe. Rempe mused that what made Omaha Steaks the “iconic brand that it is was not a Jambalaya slow cooker meal, it was the filet mignon.”

The reductions will “consolidate the menu to improve efficiency and offer consumers a narrower assortment,” according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. In turn, that will improve the speed of delivery.

Shipping frozen steaks from Omaha in a heavy box packed with ice packs is “just not sustainable anymore in this market,” Rempe said, citing record high diesel prices. Rather, having a store closer by the customer means lighter packaging and lower freight costs as well as a faster arrival times.

Delivery times have drastically improved. Last year, the average time it took a customer to receive a package from Omaha Steaks was nearly a week. Now, it’s less than two days. Rempe hopes to cut the window even further as the privately held company eventually opens 80 locations across the United States that will also serve as miniature fulfillment centers.

“Speed is important. It’s a part of the value of equation that we’re delivering to our customer and to do that requires better fulfillment logistics and a more focused assortment,” he said.

Expanding retail could help Omaha Steaks’ two biggest problems, Saunders said, which are convenience and visibility.

Stores also allow customers to see the brand’s products in person. The growth of warehouse clubs, like Costco and Sam’s Club, has also “likely been unhelpful to a player like Omaha Steaks as its bulk offerings are a source of competition,” he said.

Omaha Steaks and other direct-to-consumer brands, like ButcherBox and Good Chop, control a small amount of the total meat sales market. But that share is expected expand significantly over the next several years as demand for protein rises.

That means there’s still room to grow, especially against grocery stores, since Rempe thinks the category “prime for disruption.”

“People don’t know what they’re buying in the grocery store. They don’t know where the beef is coming from. They don’t know how long it’s been behind the glass and who’s cutting it,” he said.

He added: “We intend to educate them and to help them discover beef again.”

承蒙奥马哈牛排惠允

奥马哈牛排公司是肉类配送领域的先驱，已有超过百年的历史。但如果想在牛肉价格创历史新高的情况下生存下去，该公司必须提高速度、精简运营并提供更便宜的肉类。

这就是首席执行官内特·雷姆佩 (Nate Rempe) 带领这家拥有109年历史的公司走向的方向：进行彻底改革，将上市产品种类削减75%，从而专注于美国本土生产的肉类产品。根据他周四公布的计划，该公司将在未来两年内将其零售规模扩大一倍，这是其雄心勃勃的战略的一部分，旨在取代超市，成为人们购买牛肉的首选渠道。

“美国消费者对各种蛋白质产品的价格感到厌倦，牛肉也包括在内，”雷姆佩告诉CNN。“我们缩减了产品种类，专注于真正重要的产品。”

然而，这些变化发生之际，美国牛群规模正处于75年来的最低水平，价格却在飙升。这促使唐纳德·特朗普总统允许30万吨外国牛肉免税进入美国，直至11月30日，以期降低价格——这一举措令雷姆佩感到失望。

“这只是一个谈资，对美国消费者来说并不是一个有意义的解决方案。”他说。

雷姆佩建议，十多年来一直面临干旱和饲料价格上涨的美国牧场主需要“激励措施来投资，以增加畜群规模”。

根据 7 月份消费者价格指数数据，过去三年，牛肉价格和需求都大幅上涨，消费者为各种牛肉（包括碎牛肉和小牛肉）支付的价格上涨了 27%。

雷姆佩表示，虽然近年来鸡肉和猪肉等价格较低的肉类销量也有所上升，但这还不足以满足美国人对牛肉永无止境的需求。

“美国人需要牛肉。这就是为什么牛肉需求如此持久的原因，因为没有替代品，”他说。“你不能把牛排从盘子中间拿走，然后把鸡胸肉放到中间，就能得到同样的效果。”

除了菲力牛排和牛里脊等高端产品外，奥马哈牛排目前尚未提价。相反，该公司正大力推广价格更低的肉类，例如上等西冷牛排。

雷姆佩表示，这种牛排和菲力牛排一样嫩，对于“钱包吃紧的顾客来说是个不错的选择”。（4块牛排起价40美元，是菲力牛排套餐价格的一半。）

奥马哈牛排也对其产品进行了精简，将销售的商品种类从近500种减少到120种。一些甜点、慢炖锅菜肴和单人份食品将被取消。雷姆佩感慨道，奥马哈牛排之所以能成为“标志性品牌”，并非因为什锦饭慢炖锅菜肴，而是因为菲力牛排。

GlobalData董事总经理尼尔·桑德斯表示，此次裁员将“精简菜单，提高效率，并为消费者提供更精简的选择”。反过来，这将加快配送速度。

雷姆佩表示，鉴于柴油价格创历史新高，从奥马哈用装满冰袋的沉重箱子运送冷冻牛排“在这个市场环境下已经行不通了”。相反，在顾客附近开设门店意味着可以采用更轻便的包装，降低运费，并加快到货速度。

配送时间已大幅缩短。去年，顾客从奥马哈牛排公司 (Omaha Steaks) 收到包裹的平均时间接近一周。现在，只需不到两天。雷姆佩 (Rempe) 希望随着这家私营公司最终在美国各地开设 80 家门店（这些门店也将作为小型配送中心），进一步缩短配送时间。

“速度很重要。它是我们为客户提供的价值的一部分，而要做到这一点，就需要更好的物流配送和更精准的产品组合，”他说。

Saunders表示，扩大零售规模可以帮助Omaha Steaks解决其面临的两大难题：便利性和可见性。

实体店也让顾客能够亲眼看到品牌的产品。他还表示，像 Costco 和 Sam's Club 这样的仓储式会员店的兴起“可能对像 Omaha Steaks 这样的企业不利，因为它们的大宗商品销售构成了竞争”。

奥马哈牛排和其他一些直接面向消费者的品牌，例如 ButcherBox 和 Good Chop，目前仅占肉类市场总份额的一小部分。但随着消费者对蛋白质需求的增长，预计未来几年这一份额将显著扩大。

这意味着还有增长空间，尤其是在与杂货店的竞争中，因为雷姆佩认为该品类“极易受到颠覆”。

他说：“人们不知道他们在超市买的是什么。他们不知道牛肉来自哪里，不知道牛肉在玻璃柜里放了多久，也不知道是谁切的。”

他补充道：“我们打算对他们进行教育，帮助他们重新认识牛肉。”