Cargill and United Supermarkets Partner to Introduce Genuine Texas Beef in the Lone Star State

Cargill has had a presence in the beef business in Texas for many years, and we’re proud to tap into that strong affinity Texans hold for their state and partner with United Supermarkets to provide consumers a brand of high-quality beef all their own.

5/3/2011 --- Cargill, the second-largest beef producer in the United States, and Texas-based grocery retailer United Supermarkets, worked together to determine that while there are many other Texas-produced and branded products sold in grocery stores in the state, this is not the situation in the meat case. It is this homegrown pride and meat case opportunity that provides the foundation for the new Genuine Texas Beef brand, which will be available only in Texas, beginning May 1 at United Supermarkets and its Market Street and Amigos stores.

“Texans eat more beef per capita than people in any other state, and their preference is to purchase beef produced in Texas,” said Stephanie Daas, Genuine Texas Beef associate brand manager. “Cargill has had a presence in the beef business in Texas for many years, and we’re proud to tap into that strong affinity Texans hold for their state and partner with United Supermarkets to provide consumers a brand of high-quality beef all their own.”

Genuine Texas Beef is produced by Texans for Texans, with cattle raised a minimum of 100 days in the state. The Cargill beef processing facility in Plainview, Texas – one of its two in the state – is where the full line of beef products, including steaks, roasts, stew meat, fajita meat and ground beef, are produced.

“Texas has been a major cattle-producing state for 150 years, and people within its borders, natives and transplants alike, value the rich heritage of the state’s beef business,” said Jim Rathke, general manager for the Cargill beef plant in Plainview, Texas. “Everyone here is honored to be involved with United Supermarkets in providing Genuine Texas Beef for the people of Texas. We’re confident our quality steaks, roasts and other products will be a welcome addition to many meals and celebrations across the Lone Star State and meet the high standards Texans have for their beef.”

Genuine Texas Beef is available at 37 United Supermarkets stores in Abilene, Wichita Falls and across west Texas, 10 Market Street United stores in West Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and three Amigos United stores in Amarillo, Lubbock and Plainview. For store locations, visit www.unitedtexas.com/storelocator/.

“We are pleased to be a partner in the Genuine Texas Beef program,” said Scott Nettles, business director of meat-seafood for United Supermarkets, LLC. “Locally grown products are extremely important to us as a company, and because at least 40 percent of all the beef produced in the United States comes from our area, we saw Genuine Texas Beef as a great opportunity to partner with cattle feeders right in our own backyard and support our local communities in the process.”

“Cargill has an outstanding meat program, and because of the cattle they select, Genuine Texas Beef will give us a better product from a quality and selection standpoint than we were previously able to offer,” Nettles added. “Cargill also offers an extensive food safety and testing protocol, which ensures we get the best, safest product available. And, since the product is produced in Plainview – just 50 miles from our distribution center – our supply will be right around the corner.”

United Supermarkets and Cargill are supporting the Genuine Texas Beef brand with a variety of point-of-sale materials, including a poster, rail strips, case dividers and on-pack stickers with $0.50-off coupons. The brand website (www.GenuineTexasBeef.com) features a variety of recipes, meat preparation and cooking tips, and details on how the people involved with the Genuine Texas Beef brand proudly support local Texas communities with hundreds of hours of volunteer service and generous financial contributions.

United meat department employees are getting behind the Genuine Texas Beef brand with help from employee posters, tip cards and branded ball caps. They are also being urged to display the point-of-sale materials with an incentive program that rewards all meat department employees whose stores meet the display requirements with $10-off coupons on Genuine Texas Beef products. For the five United stores that do the best job highlighting and promoting the brand, each meat department employee will receive a $100 Amex gift card.