Kirkland is a private label brand established by Costco when Costco recognized the desire to buy quality at an affordable price. Armed with this mission, Costco partnered with big-name companies to produce quality products at budget-friendly prices under the private label of the Kirkland signature. Today, only a few lovers of Kirkland products know that the Kirkland signature is simply a brand label. If you are a lover of meat sold under the Kirkland brand and have been wondering where it comes from, what you want to know is Costco’s meat source.
Read on to find out more about Costco meat sources.
Farmers in the United States and Australia are the primary meat suppliers of meat sold under the Kirkland brand. Including its poultry, pork, and veal – a type of meat from male calves. However, foreign suppliers in other countries also supply the store with its fish and seafood.
A Breakdown of Kirkland’s Meat Source
The Kirkland signature meat is procured from meat suppliers in the United States and Australia.
Californian farmers located in San Joaquin Valley are the primary suppliers of the store’s beef.
Its organic beef is sourced from beef farms in California, with some of the organic stock imported from trusted foreign suppliers in Australia and Canada. This importation is due to the high demand for organic beef.
Its chickens are from the Costco poultry farm in Fremont, Nebraska. Its chicken products are self-produced in its chicken processing center located on the chicken farm.
The Costco chicken farm which has been operating since 2019, is the sole provider of Costco’s chicken and its poultry products. The farm is estimated to cost over $450 million.
JBS Swift, a meat company tagged the second-largest pork producer and processer in America, is the primary supplier of Costco’s pork and its pork products. Other pork farmers like Tyson and Perdue farms also supply Costco with an assortment of pork and pork products.
Costco receives supply from Atlantic Veal and Lamb Inc. for its quality veal. This veal company which is Costco’s only veal supplier and is in Brooklyn, New York, receives veal supply from over-trusted 120 farmers in the US.
The lamb meat sold under the Kirkland brand is supplied by trusted farms located in Australia.
Ways Kirkland Protects Its Meat Sources
Costco employs crucial steps to ensure the quality and traceability of meat sold under the Kirkland signature. It ensures that its beef suppliers are certified to supply meat per the recent US Department of agriculture regulation on cattle care and processing of meat for commercial purposes.
Costco carries out a routine check on all its beef before the sale to prevent the spread of dangerous foodborne diseases. The store also recognizes and is committed to proper handling and care of animals responsible for its meat and meat products. Hence, Costco’s animal welfare policies are supported by the five freedoms of animal welfare as established by the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council. These freedoms include:
Freedom to express normal behaviorsFreedom from discomfortFreedom from pain, injury, or diseaseFreedom from hunger and thirstFreedom from fear and distress
The store ensures that all its organic beef suppliers produce organic beef in line with the US National Organic Program rules and regulations.
As it pertains to its chicken and chicken products, Costco ensures that all the poultries located within its chicken farm, the equipment, and poultry handling programs promote its animal welfare policies.
To ensure the quality of its pork, Costco employs PQA Plus. This pork quality assurance program protects pigs while ensuring the production of quality pork meat from pig farms. Its lamb meat suppliers are farms in Australia known for breeding quality pasture lambs fed with grasses free from growth hormones and animal drugs.
Costco ensures that all suppliers of its fish, seafood, and seafood products are in areas where the quality, freshness, and abundant supply of these foods is certain.
Conclusion
Understanding the love of many for cheap quality, Costco established the Kirkland signature brand. But it does not stop there. The store also ensures that all its food items produced under the Kirkland signature brand are traceable to trustworthy and reliable sources.
Where does Costco get its fish from?
Costco fish suppliers are in countries beyond the US. Including Costa Rica, South America, and Latin America.
Does Costco produce all Kirkland signature items?
Several Kirkland signature products are manufactured by big-name companies other than Costco.
What are some famous brands that sell items under the Kirkland signature brand?
Some big brands that sell under the Kirkland label include; Diamond pet foods, Duracell batteries, Starbucks coffee, Kimberly-Clark diapers (Manufacturer of Huggies diapers), and Jelly Belly candy, and Niagara bottle water.
