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Nature''s way: natural meats are achieving greater acceptance and sales as consumer demand increases for minimally processed products free of artificial ingredients and additives.

Article Excerpt
Years ago, traditional packers and processors scoffed at the notion of adding natural meat to their product mix. But after years of watching natural meat sales and consumer demand for these products increase, many minds have changed.

Natural-meat sales are being driven by an increasing number of consumers desiring meat from animals that are more humanely raised, minimolly processed, free of artificial ingredients and additives, and low in fat, sources claim.

Natural-foods retailers and natural-meat processing pioneers still lead the charge in this growing niche market, but traditional processors and grocery retailers are also joining the game.

"The natural-foods industry is growing at a great rate, probably at nearly 20 percent annually," says Paul Gingerich, vice president of meat and seafood for natural-foods retailer Wild Oats Markets Inc., Boulder, CO.

"Our business has maintained nearly double-digit growth over the years," says Mel Coleman Jr., chairman of Denver, CO-based Coleman Natural Products Inc., a natural-meats pioneer and a Petaluma Holdings company.

"In 2002, we had about $100 million in sales," says Laura Freeman, president of Lexington, KY-based Laura's Lean Beef. "And our sales have grown 35 percent a year in the past 15 years. We see more retailers taking on products in this category."

"Same-store sales have grown more than 35 percent in just the last 12 months, and we have enjoyed similar growth every year since we started,"...

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