Superior Farms exec shares latest lamb trends

MEAT+POULTRY Podcast

The COVID pandemic has been a challenging time for the meat and poultry industry, but for Sacramento, Calif.-based Superior Farms it was a time of unexpected sales increases.

When the pandemic hit 18 months ago, and foodservice sales immediately plummeted, Superior Farms feared what it could mean to its bottom line, as almost half of the company’s sales came from foodservice customers. However, the lamb market experienced a dramatic uptick in retail sales and Superior Farms gained a number of new lamb consumers.

“We saw incredibly strong retail demand that went throughout the pandemic,” said Anders Hemphill, vice president of marketing and brand strategy for Superior Farms. “A lot of consumers who were buying lamb weren’t the typical lamb shoppers.”

On this week’s MEAT+POULTRY podcast, Hemphill explains how Superior Farms was able to persevere through the COVID pandemic following necessary adjustments in processing practices and supply chain distribution.

Hemphill shares his insights on the challenges the lamb and the entire livestock market are facing now and how things will fare for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.

Hemphill also explains Superior Farms’ investments in solar and wind power, designed to make more of its facilities sustainable for the future.

Since joining the company in 2014, Hemphill’s career has been all about lamb. He shares how he transitioned his marketing career to working with Superior Farms, and what he’s learned along the way.

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