Gary’s Quality Meats – Prahran Market
Business Owner: Gary McBean
“As an apprentice many years ago, we always had grass fed beef, grain fed was sort of pushed upon us, forced upon us by wholesalers. If you know how the industry works you might see cows in paddocks everywhere, but they don’t stay there, they end up in feedlots to put on weight and that’s where the farmer gets more money. 99% of meat going all around the country is through feedlots so I made the conscious decision to be different to everybody else, not just for the business but that’s how I prefer the animals to be treated, to eat grass when their meant to eat grass and not grain. I don’t like to see animals penned up and force fed grain their not meant to eat. No only that, it’s a better product grass fed beef, it’s a better flavour and its better for you.”
High Point
“About 5 years ago the market was flat and meat prices were going up and I decided to do something different. The very first change was when I got the free range pork because it is an issue how pigs are treated and I got a really good response from that, so then I changed my lamb to Saltbush organic lamb and I got a really good response from that and then I moved onto beef and started dealing direct with farmers. That was when the business started to grow. It was the point of difference. People really care about animals and how they are treated. I used to sell 60-80 hams at Christmas time. The first year I got the free range pork in I sold 200. The year after that I ordered 300 and sold out. The year after that I ordered 400 and sold out.”
Low Point
“I have been through 3 recessions here and they have all been really tough. About 5 years ago business was pretty low. All my employees were making more money than me.”
Business Tip
“Go with the trend”
