Kepak to supply beef burgers to the US market

Kepak Group, an Irish company and one of Europe’s leading food innovators, has become the first ever European meat processor to be awarded United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval for the supply, marketing and distribution of Irish beef in a value-added format of beef burgers into the US market.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Oct 2019, 09:52 BST
Left to right: Joanne Farrelly, Kepak Head of Sales North America, John Horgan, Managing Director, Kepak, Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture and Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord BiaLeft to right: Joanne Farrelly, Kepak Head of Sales North America, John Horgan, Managing Director, Kepak, Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture and Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia
Left to right: Joanne Farrelly, Kepak Head of Sales North America, John Horgan, Managing Director, Kepak, Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture and Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia

The approval announced at Anuga, the world’s largest trade fair for food and beverages in Cologne, Germany, secures access for Kepak to the US restaurant burger market which is currently valued at over $122bn.

The development follows the successful launch in 2017 of the first Irish beef retail brand in the United States, Kepak’s Celtic Beef Company, and means Irish beef in burger patty format will be available in the United States for the first time.

This USDA value added beef patty approval will see Kepak’s grass-fed, fully traceable and hormone free Irish beef being made available to the foodservice and retail sectors with distribution initially focusing on the New York and Boston markets.

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John Horgan, Managing Director, Kepak Group, said: “We are delighted to be the first meat processor in Europe to attain USDA approval for the sale of our high-quality value-added beef burger patties into the US market. This announcement will see Kepak’s renowned Irish beef burger patties made available in pubs and restaurants from Monaghan to Manhattan and Massachusetts. Kepak North America, the Group’s sales and marketing office in USA, has been busy growing the sales our Irish beef since the launch of our Celtic Beef Company brand a number of years ago and this new burger range will enhance our foodservice offering and allow us to build upon the tremendous success in retail channels that we have already enjoyed in the region.”

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