Here's The 5th Generation of Beef!

How Jeff & Kara Smith Launched Colorado Craft Beef

Author

Wes Schaeffer
September 20, 2023

Business Launch Tips you'll learn today on The Sales Podcast ...

  • Partnered with Jocko, Origin, and others like Dr. Shawn Baker

  • Growing triple digits the last five years

  • Creating efficiencies

  • June is his slowest time of year since 95% of sales are direct to consumer

  • 1913 it all started

  • His wife is a 5th generation cattle rancher

  • His wife has a Masters in Cattle Nutrition

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  • Started in 2017 and doing more revenue per month now than in all of 2019

  • Intentionality and craftsmanship

  • Now vertical from top to bottom

  • His father-in-law still has the commercial ranching side of things

  • She wanted to impact the cattle industry in a positive manner

  • Moved back to Colorado in 2015

  • The market was changing, and his FIL steered them away from following in his footsteps

  • In 2016, they bought the eastern neighbor of his FIL

  • He had to sell at a premium to make this work

  • People in the ag space are not supportive of the DTC model

  • They have no negative marketing in their space

  • She knew the science behind good steaks

  • He’s operations and money

  • He wanted a blue ocean, not a blood bath with his neighbors

  • He did the national average his first year, 31 head

  • Nearly triple digits in year two

  • Don’t take “no” for an answer

  • Be ready to grind and to execute

  • They buy weaned calves and yearlings, then finish them

  • Bootstrapped things

  • Still sourcing cattle from partners but dictate the health protocols

  • Doing genetics testing

  • They are still outpacing production

  • The modulation of their sales structure is stressful

  • Did a ton of research to know the market so they knew the opportunity and how to price their product

  • Looked at smaller bundled boxes

  • They started with quarters and halves since they knew people, but evolved into the bundled boxes

  • Had to figure out shipping

  • He spent nine years in heavy construction and worked the problems until he found a solution

  • Build their platform so people know their mission and values

  • It’s hard to sell an idea, so build your platform

  • March 2020 had a bigger weekend than any two months previously

  • Attention to detail and customer support

  • The new partners helped them purchase the harvest facility, which was the biggest bottleneck

  • The head of marketing is a former Marine

  • They turned off marketing in 2021 for four months, but now it’s hard to turn it back on and regain that momentum

  • He was up at 4 a.m. in 2020, communicating with customers

  • He’s down about 85 lbs since the end of 2019

  • He was 315 lbs when his daughter was born

  • Dr. Baker started working with them since his baby was a few weeks old

  • “Jeff’s going carnivore for 90 days…let’s follow his mission,” via Dr. Shawn Baker

  • He didn’t realize how bad he felt until he was on carnivore for three weeks

  • He had a ribeye at lunch and won’t eat again

  • Dry ages everything 21 days

  • "Discover the unparalleled taste and quality of Colorado Craft Beef. As rising leaders in the US meat delivery ranch-to-table space, we continue to surpass our customers' expectations and offer subscriptions nationwide. Elevate your dining experience with our curated burger and steak boxes, and savor how we use innovative, responsible animal and land management practices to create a delicious, high-quality protein source for you and your family."

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