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The Only Two Reasons for Special Pricing

written by

Dustin Schnabel

posted on

March 29, 2022

A lot of folks ask – “when are you doing your next “whatever” special?”.

With the exception of eggs, all of our protein is produced between April and November. It is important to note that each year’s production plan/schedule is created and confirmed a full year in advance. There is a TON of risk associated with this. I generally create a model to produce more than expected.

Let’s just say that in the month of May we see a large uptick in new patrons. It is impossible for us to increase production to meet that new demand. Now let’s assume the opposite. The month of May turns out to be slower than forecasted. This is a much easier situation for us to deal with. Our solution is simple – we incentivize bulk purchases. We don’t run special pricing based on some arbitrary dates. There’s no such thing as “Labor Day Sales” here. If you see something at a reduced price, there’s a reason for it. 

Another one of those reasons is called “CASH FLOW”.  We are 100% self-financed. This means that every dollar we use to run our operation comes from your food dollars. There are no equipment loans or lines of credit. In our field of business, this is unheard of. Here’s how we do it - this may sound simple, but trust me – it’s very difficult to manage!   We will use chicken as an example. 

Let’s assume we have 100 chickens ready for processing. Those birds have been paid for, fed and cared for. All that cash is gone. It exists in the form of a living animal. We need to recover SOME of that investment, and we need to do it QUICKLY. This is why you see incentives to buy fresh chickens in larger quantities on our butcher dates.  Again – this sounds simple, but it’s very difficult to make it a reality.

Now you know the two and only two reasons we offer special pricing on anything we raise. We don’t play games with our beef quarters, half pigs and chicken butcher days. We compare our forecast with actual numbers, then we determine how much cash we need to continue operations. We are committed to raising the finest food land can produce and getting it onto your family’s table. We are funded by your food dollars. You are our investors and we answer to you alone. Pause for a moment to let that hit home. Nobody exists between us (your food source) and you. 

No bank tells us what to do, and no invented holidays exist to push sales. (drops mic)

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