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The Approach of the Bison Burger!

Jorn Nordmann owns one of the largest bison herds in Canada. His herd of over 1800 bison, is located near Grand Prairie Alberta. Over the past 2 years he has pumped more than $7million into the emerging bison meat industry which has been plagued by weak marketing, overpriced products & unreliable quality. Nordmann has incorporated his company, Grande Prairie Bison, and has registered it as a trademark. His objective is to turn this name into a well-recognized consumer-brand of bison throughout Canada, US & Europe.

Jorn Nordmann's Success

Jorn Nordmann emigrated from Germany in the mid 1970's. Initially he made his living, buying & selling Pacific salmon. Approximately a decade ago, Nordmann entered into a new venture, processing & marketing halibut under his own company, S.M. Products Ltd. (Seafood & Meat Products). Nordmann grew his business to become one of the largest distributors of halibut on the continent. He has built a strong customer base with Canadian distributors, which allows him to move halibut into supermarkets and restaurants. His customers know him as a reliable supplier of halibut.

Bison's appeal

One of the benefits of bison is that it is lean and organic. Bison has been found to contain just under 2% fat, compared to pork (at most, 5%) and beef (nearly 11% or higher). In addition, bison producers have so far refrained from administering the growth hormones to their Bison. These are the drugs that allow cattle to gain as much as 2 kilograms a day in the month they're slaughtered. Although the evidence is far from clear, critics have claimed that hormones used to promote growth in cattle cause breast cancer and may be causing girls to reach puberty earlier than they used to.

Beef's Rival

If bison does find success in the supermarkets it will most likely do so at the expense of the beef industry in the long-run.Beef is the meat that bison most closely resembles. Currently, Grand Prairie Bison offers over 33 bison products, including sausage, salami, roasts and ribs. In the short-term, Alberta's bison producers pose little or no threat to Alberta's beef industry. Alberta currently accounts for 70% of Canada's beef output. The table below compares the size & scope of these 2 industries in Alberta.

	# of Animals	# of Ranchers	# of Animals Processed in 2001.	Wholesale $'s in 2001.
Bison	95,000	1000	15,544	$20 Million
Beef	6.6 million	32,000	2.34 Million	$4 Billion

The Meat Category

In a 2002 report issued by the grocery industry, it is clear that the meat category is one of great importance to retailers. Currently perishable goods dominate the list of most purchased products on Canadian Grocery shelves. These goods include perishable meats sold by random weight ($4.4 billion ), fresh vegetables ($2.4 billion) and fresh fruit ($2.1 billion). Perishable goods were the fastest growing segment last year up 8% in $ sales vs. dry goods which were only up 4%. In addition, the 2001 Stats Canada data concludes that Canadians spend approximately $17 per week on meat which is equivalent to 20% of their total grocery expenditure.

Bison Inroads

To date Bison producers have not made any significant inroads with the major grocery chains but they have had some small successes. Bison is now being carried at 150 Federated Co-operatives outlets. Federated is a retail grocery chain in Western Canada with a total of 350 stores. Bison has also caught on in some rural areas in Western Canada, where consumers have been able to purchase the bison directly from the producers. It is becoming a trendy meal for affluent urbanites who tend to eat at fine-dining establishments and shop at high-end specialty stores.

Nordmann's Challenge

Nordmann's goal is to turn his brand - Grande Prairie Bison into a consumer brand that food distributors in Canada recognize and trust. His challenge is to introduce the bison to 3 target markets, which include distributors, supermarket chains and the consumer. He knows that he will need a customized marketing plan for each of these groups but given limited resources he will need to develop a marketing strategy that can be executed in phases. Nordmann's current challenge is to determine a medium-term strategy for launching his brand.