Online steak vendor aims for growth with expansion
Five years in business, an online retailer of steaks is looking to increase revenue by adding more to its product line and further establish itself as a go-to vendor of quality meats and wine.
Lonestarsteaks.com is a Fort Worth-incorporated company, founded in 2003, that offers everything from 10-ounce boneless rib-eye steaks to whole smoked turkeys and pork ribs.
“When it comes to steaks, our 8-ounce filet mignon and our 12-ounce rib-eye are the two most popular steak cuts,” said Jordan Johnson, founder and president. “And then our smoked, sliced brisket is very popular. Last but not least, we have ancho chile tamales, which are fantastic.”
Along with newly added barbecue items, Lonestarsteaks.com also has created a complementary Web site, Lonestarcellars.com, to give customers access to more than 100 Californian wines, including reds from Robert Mondavi and Kim Crawford whites.
The company began with 650 orders during the 2003 holiday season, followed by about 2,800 orders the next year. Johnson expects total 2008 package sales of about 7,500 and a continuing annual growth rate of 30 percent, he said.
“We have completed the infrastructure development to a very high degree, so for the next five years that allows to focus on what great products we have and what a great Texas company and brand we have,” he said.
Johnson and two partners founded the company with a goal of creating a streamlined, online business model that allowed for the outsourcing of products and services and no need for traditional, brick-and-mortar investments, he said.
“When I determined that was the goal, deciding upon steaks as the product was a result of me being a multigenerational native Fort Worth resident, and wanting to find a product that was unique to Fort Worth and Texas,” Johnson said. “Steaks seemed like a natural because with a brand that was uniquely Texas, we could largely market that.”
Lonestarsteaks.com initially sold only steaks and tamales online, but separated from its original supplier — Fort Worth’s Deen Meats — about two years ago. The company’s products currently are shipped from a South Texas meat supplier, Eddy Packing Company Inc., based in Yoakum, about halfway between San Antonio and Houston.
“Over the course of the last five years we have learned it is much better to outsource production and shipment to experts in that business,” he said. “We have found luckily a source that allows us to produce our premium steaks, and pack and ship in the same facility.”
Meat by mail
Online food ordering is becoming increasingly popular in Fort Worth.
Longtime Fort Worth establishments such as Railhead Smokehouse and CattlemenÂ’s Fort Worth Steak House also offer online eats, the latter of which serves up its cuts of beef through a fax-like, online ordering system.
“We’ve been doing it for a long time,” said Maria Flores, manager at Catttlemen’s. “A lot of people do it during the holidays. We get a lot of (orders for) Christmas, Fathers Day, Mothers Day, birthdays and anniversaries. A lot of companies do it to thank people for their hard work … We have regular customers from New York who order all the time.”
The University of Texas at ArlingtonÂ’s Michael Richarme said online commerce is the latest in a long line of tools that businesses use to improve their work.
“Candidly, an online presence brings a global reach, in other words beyond just the physical geographical realms,” said Richarme, a marketing professor. “It’s primarily a tool, just like a telephone.”
Although online commerce brings a wealth of advantages, such as speed or accessibility, it also runs the risk of making the process of buying and selling less personal, he said.
“The danger is you’re missing the whole point: The purpose is to try and establish a relationship with a buyer,” he said.
Still, he expects online commerce, especially food vendors, to grow as the Internet increasingly becomes ubiquitous with out day-to-day lives.
As for Johnson and company, by reducing their responsibilities — warehouses, shipping and physical presence — he said the company’s three partners are free to focus on what matters most: staying successful.
“The three of us are all that is required to run the company and grow the company as far as we can take it,” he said. “The beautiful part of the story is we can compete on the same playing field as Omaha Steaks on the Internet without the need of the traditional infrastructure.”
Lone Star Steaks.com
800-239-9886
lonestarsteaks.com
