Throughout the pandemic there’s been some struggle with meat supply chains and consumers getting the products they want. A new app developed by Lyndon Lisitza, Meatocracy, may just be the timely solution to widening the supply chain bottleneck.
“The purpose of the app is very simply to bridge the gap between livestock producers and consumers looking to buy direct from producers,” says Lisitza. Farmers and ranchers may find it easy to find meat products because it’s all around them, but for people in urban settings, it’s harder to make those contacts for beef, lamb, pork, or whatever they’re looking for.
Producers can set their market radius, their prices for their product, determine if they want to deliver or not, and set a delivery fee based on either a flat fee or by the kilometre. The animals are processed in a licensed facility, following health guidelines, and by purchasing through the producer, that money goes back to them, and to the local abattoir.
Depending on the provincial regulations, producers can offer as much as half a side of beef, or just five cuts of something.
“Online meat sales is not a new concept,” says Lisitza, but Meatocracy is different from other food box sales models, the meat isn’t pooled together and there’s no middle man. You’re purchasing directly from the producer.
Getting consumers on board with the app means highlighting the benefits of buying locally through marketing strategy — an element of educating the consumer in the app. “There’s a whole host of benefits of localizing the meat supply chain that we do,” says Lisitza. A lot of it is beneficial to the producer’s bottom line — shorter distances to truck the animal, reduction of transport costs after the animal is processed, and supporting the local abattoir.
Listen in for more in the interview between Lisitza and Shaun Haney:
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
