While it has become easier than ever to connect directly with consumers, thanks to the direct-to-consumer trend that has taken off, it is not such an easy business for family-led operations, especially when customers consist of retailers, export clientele and the wholesale market. However, when in the business of relationships, building a brand that consumers recognise, trust and connect with, comes naturally.
This is how Beefmaster Group – one of South Africa’s leading specialist beef producers, and Kimberley’s largest private employer – approached the opportunity to connect directly with consumers.
“We used to have people saying, your meat is so delicious, where can we get it. At the time we only had a small and local retail offering through our Kimberley-based Factory Shop, but we realised we are not reaching everyone,” says Lana van Reenen, branding and communication manager at Beefmaster Group.
The family run operation has been hard at work to carve out unique roles in food production by going direct to consumers. Today it has retail outlets in Kimberley and two in Gauteng (Benoni and Olifantsfontein), and it has built a loyal customer base in those areas since 2005 and 2017 respectively. Besides the general public, customers include wholesalers, independent retail butcheries, informal shops and street food vendors. In 2021, it also added the convenient and online home-delivery service – iBeef – to reach consumers where it doesn’t necessarily have a stand-alone store.
Outside of these offerings, the brand works closely with established strategic partners including retailers and restaurant chains, as well as compelling neighbourhood butchers.
“Our relationships with nationwide wholesalers, retailers, butchers and export clientele are not going to change; but we also wanted to create an offering for the everyday person on the street, who recognises and wants to experience the Beefmaster name, with direct access to a range of quality beef products and bespoke merchandise,” explains van Reenen.
She says at the time of establishing the retail outlets, consumers were impressed with the quality of Beefmaster’s beef and loved the convenience of being able to buy it directly from the source. Since then, product demand has grown.
“As we became more established, we realised we had to step it up if we were going to build on the connections we had made with consumers. There were some challenges in trying to keep up,” she reflects.
The brand undertook extensive refurbishments of their retail offering in 2019 to offer consumers a more modern experience.
“Now consumers can expect to walk into a modern and clean store, where they can interact with friendly and knowledgeable staff, and access a wide array of quality and carefully curated products, from our own beef to specialised products from local suppliers, like honey and olives,” says van Reenen.
It also, at the same time as giving consumers a better brand experience, added more delivery points to its online service iBeef. Today it delivers to Gauteng, Cape Town, the Garden Route, Bloemfontein and Kimberley, with plans in the pipeline to increase delivery to more destinations.
“Even though we have grown into a more scalable operation, we still handpack all our iBeef boxes with special care at our Kimberley operation, so that we don’t lose our brand integrity. It is important to us that the end consumer has a positive experience with our brand, from the product right through to the service we offer,” says van Reenen.
The latest consumer connection point it has established, is an event for the local Kimberley community. Called the Flavour Festival, it is a one-day event that allows local consumers to experience Beefmaster in a fun and memorable way.
“We want consumers to engage with our brand on a deeper level, as well as create memories that strengthen our consumer relationships. And the golden thread that epitomises Beefmaster Group is, in fact, relationships,” says van Reenen.
Beefmaster gets the best of both worlds: It’s able to keep its traditional business growing with the relationships its built, even as it does more direct sales to shoppers. The company plans to keep the shift going. It expects direct sales, led by its owned channels, to increase in size as consumers continue to experience the brand.
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