They’ve Got the Beef

J&B Group could double its sales to $1 billion in five years as it expands into new geographic and product markets. So why did a meat company with a brand called No Name succeed?

September 2006 | by Richard Broderick

J&B cofounder Bob Hageman whips up a treat on the grill, while son (and J&B president) Mike keeps it cool. Their company has evolved from a local meat vendor to a supplier for supermarkets, restaurants, and alternative-format retailers looking for specialized meat products.

Photograph by Travis Anderson

That has also been an important capability for J&B customers with what Mike Hageman calls an “alternative retail format.” A case in point is Let’s Dish, whose outlets offer rotating menus of 15 to 16 different items, from appetizers to desserts, and the pre-portioned ingredients that allow families to prepare those dishes themselves.

“With Let’s Dish, I asked the basic questions I do with every customer: ‘What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to create?’” Petersen says. “The relationship is not one-way. It’s very interactive, with them coming to us with ideas and my giving them recommendations that draw on my notes and experiences traveling around the country and following food trends.”

So far, the relationship seems to be working. In fewer than three years, Let’s Dish has gone from start-up to a chain with 19 stores currently in operation and plans for about 35 more in 15 states by the end of this year.

J&B has “been really great to work with,” says Darcy Olson, a Let’s Dish cofounder. “The bottom line is their true focus on the customer—on us as customers and on how we can best serve our customers.”

Keep Cooking

J&B Group now hopes to learn about a lot of other businesses. In addition to shooting for sales of around $1 billion, it’s also looking to expand its distribution from its core region of the Upper Midwest to the nation as a whole. (Currently, a small percentage of its products are shipped to the East Coast.) While this expansion will mean adding to the company’s present work force, J&B sees most of the gains coming by way of increased automation.