While working door-to-door pitching deals for a yearB次元官网网址檚 worth of frozen meat, Marc Lafleur realized consumers want quality, local meat, but canB次元官网网址檛 afford the freezer space or the cash to do it.

He co-founded TruLocal, one of many meat-subscription-box companies to start delivering in Canada in recent years to feed consumer cravings for local, ethically raised meat without logistical hassles. They also solve problems for the farmers who no longer have to worry about finding customers and stand to make more money.

B次元官网网址淲e pretty much started off B次元官网网址� in a garage. We had a couple of chest freezers,B次元官网网址� said Lafleur, CEO of Kitchener, Ont.-based TruLocal, who co-founded the company in 2016 with an initial offering of four products and only 30 customers.

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The company now boasts several employees, ships to three provinces and offers dozens of different cuts of meat, including beef liver, turkey thighs and buffalo sausage.

Lafleur attributes the rapid growth to customersB次元官网网址� desire to understand where their meat comes from. When the company surveyed customers about what matters to them when purchasing meat, their No. 1 demand was transparency.

B次元官网网址淭hey wanted to have as much information as possible about where their products were coming from,B次元官网网址� he said.

The convenience factor doesnB次元官网网址檛 hurt either.

A small box of meat costs less and is easier to store than the full-year supply Lafleur peddled previously. In cities, many people live in small spaces B次元官网网址� with some micro-condos even doing away with ovens B次元官网网址� and donB次元官网网址檛 have the space for a chest freezer. It can also be easier to afford a monthly payment than an annual lump sum, he said.

Before subscription-box companies emerged, only the most motivated city dwellers could find a farmer to purchase meat from.

Victor Straatman, who co-founded Meatme in 2006, recalls trying to do just that when he moved to Vancouver from the Netherlands, where he was able to purchase local meat online. He couldnB次元官网网址檛 find a similar system in Canada and eventually found a farmer who agreed to drive six hours to meet him in a parking lot in the city to sell him some meat.

B次元官网网址淚 felt like thrown back like 10 years or 15 years in the internet age,B次元官网网址� he said.

City dwellers can also go to a local butcher to purchase local, ethically raised cuts.

But increasingly, Canadians expect to be able to order their food B次元官网网址� and most anything else they need B次元官网网址� online. CanadaB次元官网网址檚 major grocers spent the past few years implementing and quickly expanding their e-commerce offerings, and subscription box companies offer that same benefit to time-strapped home cooks.

In order to succeed, though, these companies also had to offer an incentive for farmers to work with them.

Vancouver-based Meatme works with about seven farmers.

B次元官网网址淭hey basically can focus on what they like to focus on, (which) is raise their animals,B次元官网网址� said Straatman. B次元官网网址淎nd then we actually deal with the rest B次元官网网址� so the whole butchering process, and all the logistics to get their product to peopleB次元官网网址檚 door.B次元官网网址�

Dave Semmelink knows he must sell the meat of the livestock he raises on his more than 40-hectare farm on Vancouver Island, but he hates that part of his job. The introvert prefers to spend his time among his pigs, chickens and lambs, plus he finds it difficult to put on a sales hat after 14-hour days of manual labour and admits he lacks the skills to build and manage a website.

For several years, he attempted to sell his meat online to customers in the Lower Mainland. But he stopped travelling to Vancouver last year for deliveries because of complicated logistics and the cost of the ferry.

He started working with Meatme a few months ago and, so far, B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 been amazingB次元官网网址� in no small part because the company took over promoting his products, connecting him with customers and relieving the nightmare of shipping logistics.

It also pays better than selling his meat to packing houses via auction, which he said would offer him a quarter of what Meatme pays. In that scenario, Semmelink says, B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 make a living.B次元官网网址�

Farmers who sell meat through conventional methods tend to earn about 16 cents on every $1 at retail, said Luke Armstrong, who co-founded Niku Farms, a Toronto-based meat-subscription-box company.

Under his companyB次元官网网址檚 model, they earn at least three times that, he said, partly because the company strives to purchase as much of one animal as possible rather than just a few cuts.

At farmersB次元官网网址� markets or restaurants B次元官网网址� both alternative sales outlets B次元官网网址� buyers tend to want one or just a few specific cuts, meaning it can be hard to find a buyer for remaining chunks of the animal.

Farmers and shoppers appear to be buying into the new model.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been incredible growth,B次元官网网址� said Armstrong. The company started with one farm supplying it, and now boasts seven and is bringing on several more to satisfy consumer demand.

One farmer Niku Farms works with initially supplied five boxes a week to the company, but now theyB次元官网网址檙e ordering much more from him. HeB次元官网网址檚 currently on track to produce 10 times more beef than last year and almost 300 times more chicken, said Armstrong.

Semmelink started out selling four pigs a month to Meatme, but they plan to increase that to 20 hogs in the future.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 love to grow with them as they grow, and I have the capacity to supply them with as much as they want.B次元官网网址�

Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press

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