Meet the butcher

Michael James, Carina North Quality Meats, Brisbane

Michael is a fifth-generation butcher who runs his own business, Carina North Quality Meats, 7km from Brisbane’s CBD. Here Red Meat Round-Up talks to Michael about his business and the importance of sharing red meat’s story.

Key points

• ‘The provenance story’ behind red meat is driving consumer choice.
• Seasonal lamb and beef marketing campaigns are a ‘call to action’ for customers.
• Having an online presence is vital.
• Don’t underestimate the power of stocking vegetarian.

Michael is one of Brisbane’s busiest businessmen and says butchers must be nimble in responding to consumers’ changing tastes.

He established the business in 2004 but his family has been in the industry for over a century. Salm’s Meats – named after his mother’s family name – still has two shops operating, one of which has been trading continuously since 1914.

Telling the provenance story

Michael said besides quality, provenance is driving consumer choice. As a result, he only sells products that are backed by a complete provenance story to meet the growing consumer desire to know exactly where their food comes from.

“We only sell MSA-accredited grassfed beef. People are more inclined to choose grassfed in my area because of the brand and knowledge that sits behind it,” Michael said.

“My general rule for brands to be stocked in my shop is they’ve got to have a website and a Facebook or Instagram account. If they don’t have that, they’re not in my shop.

“I’ve got three apprentice butchers so I’m not expecting them to be an encyclopaedia of the meat industry at 19. However, if someone comes in and asks, ‘where’s your grassfed beef from?’, they can direct them to, for example, the Cape Grim Facebook page or website, and say ‘there’s some great information about this brand online if you want to research it a bit more’.

“I get five or six new customers a week who would ask ‘is your beef purely grassfed?’ or ‘what’s the brand behind it?’. Ten years ago, it wasn’t a consideration for customers, but in the last two or three years it has become a legitimate question.

“Animal welfare is also a big part of buying decisions, and I find that particularly as you get closer to the city, the more they want to know, because the country is so far away.

“Every year, I visit all my suppliers to make sure their practices are true to what they’re saying, and to make sure I’m getting good supply.”

Leveraging MLA campaigns

Michael is a major advocate for MLA’s seasonal beef and lamb campaigns and supporting them in-store.

“They help our business by drawing consumers’ attention to the fact that it’s time to eat beef or lamb. Obviously, Australia Day is the big one for lamb – turnover doubles during that time, and lamb sales will triple for about four days during that campaign period,” Michael said.

“The commercials are really a ‘call for action’ – that’s why it’s very important for the point of sale material to be in the shop to provide customers with options and ideas for cooking.”

Establishing an online presence

Michael believes butchers play a crucial role in linking producers to consumers and must always put the needs of consumers first.

Adapting that philosophy to the modern consumer, Michael has introduced an online shop, and expanded his range beyond grassfed beef, lamb and free-range pork and chicken, to include vegetarian and gluten-free options.

“Online is a very good add-on to the business but you’ve still got to have bricks and mortar,” Michael said.

“I’ve had friends who’ve tried to do online from just a warehouse and it just doesn’t work because people like to see and feel meat.

“Customers will see my shop on Facebook or Instagram or find it on Google and they’ll come in and see our products, they’ll buy something, they’re happy, and then they’ll start ordering online.

“Meat is a perishable item so customers want to check your shop to see it’s clean, tidy and presentable, and once they’ve got that feeling, are happy and have made that connection with you, they’ll move to online shopping.”

Vegetarian can be valuable

While it might sound counter-intuitive for a butcher to stock vegetarian options, Michael sees it as a valuable part of his business.

“About 4% of my business is vegetarian, so there is a market for it,” Michael said.

“Everyone deserves good food and if you provide good vegetarian options, you’d be surprised how many people who follow a vegetarian diet as a lifestyle choice can be more open to occasionally eating meat. You’ve got to think of it long-term.

“It’s also all about the uptake of the next meal, and catering for people who aren’t necessarily big meat eaters, but want to feel part of the dinner journey.

“For example, if someone buys some lamb loins, they may initially be planning to go home and create a side dish, or they can buy a vegetarian risotto here to go with it.

“We do a wild mushroom risotto, pumpkin and fetta risotto, sand crab lasagne and ricotta, spinach and mushroom lasagne. We also started selling spinach and ricotta stuffed mushrooms three years ago, and we sell 65 to 70 a week.

“We supply haloumi burgers to some local girls’ schools, but then the add-on is they buy beef sausages or chicken sausages from us. If we didn’t do the haloumi burgers, I wouldn’t get the add-on sale of the sausages.

“It reinforces the message that you’ve got to really look at your customers and respond to the changes in their eating habits – you have to give them what they want.

“Also, it’s 2018 – you’ve got to be on social media and have a website, Facebook page and Instagram. The butchers that are doing it well, have all those aspects covered.

“To be the best butcher I can be, I try to learn from the best, and I think the best butcher in Australia who has changed the meat industry would be Anthony Puharich from Victor Churchill in Sydney.

“He has given me some great insights into the business, and been really generous with his time and knowledge.”

More information

carinanorthqualitymeats.com.au