Business Profile:

Inspired by a stint in Silicon Valley and the lessons of lockdown, SHENG founded online butchery Meat Co.; we chat to him about introducing technology to the business, and what it means for customers.

Check out this online butchery

Why did you start Meat Co.?

We’ve been supplying to top restaurants and retailers in Singapore for more than 20 years, but I’ve always felt there hasn’t been a useful platform for home cooks and chefs to get a good range of quality meats in Singapore.

Last year, we decided to launch Meat Co. as a project to bring unique meat produce to the mass market. Having worked in Silicon Valley back in 2010, I’d always wanted to add a tech element to the traditional meat-packing business. With the growing e-commerce industry, I felt that setting up an online butchery would enable me to reach a larger audience. Now, our customers can take their time to read up and learn about the different meat products that are available, then order them at their convenience for delivery.

It was really last year’s lockdown that spurred us on to set up our online butchery, meat-co.com. Our goal was to continue to provide a great variety of exclusive meat cuts that aren’t commonly found in retailers or supermarkets. We want customers to have access to quality meats, despite any pandemic restrictions.

How do you source your meats?

Merchandising fresh meat is a tremendous responsibility. You’re dealing with years of work by the farmers, all put into your hands. At Meat Co., we see to it that we preserve the freshness and quality of our meats. Our top priority is to work with like-minded producers and farmers whose goals we’re aligned with. That means our products are sourced from small-scale farms that practise ethical farming. Highlights include free-range, barley-fed and hormone-free Wanderer beef from Australia, and organic, free-range chicken from New Zealand farm Bostock Brothers.

Before the pandemic, we would visit the farms annually to understand the source and origin of the produce and to personally pick the best meats to import. We also act as their feelers on the ground here, sending them real-time feedback that they can use to improve the parameters on their farms. There’s a whole lot of communication involved.

We’re fortunate enough to partner with farmers who are unafraid to break the mould. For example, they’re willing to go against convention to produce animals that are three times older than conventional beef. At first, we were worried about how tough the meat might taste. But in the end, the final product – a category of meat called Vintage Beef (from Australia) – is one of the most unique products in our store.

What sets Meat Co. apart from other meat shops?

Our quality, freshness and convenience. We do everything ourselves – from importing to processing to delivering – so we have direct control over selecting the finest breeds and cut.

We’re also able to offer free next-day delivery for orders made through our online store. Upon receiving the order, the in-house butchery team handpicks the meat and cuts it to the customer’s order specifications. We can also do customisation; for example, if a tomahawk bone is too long, we can cut it to fit your oven. The orders are then delivered using our own temperature-controlled refrigerated trucks. Basically, you can just click, sit back and relax! There’s no need to visit crowded shops or lug heavy meats back home.

I’ve always felt the need to be hands-on. That includes getting on calls with the farmers, understanding the situation and weather on the ground, and thinking about how that will affect the produce months down the line. Many of our partner farmers supply exclusively to us. This gives us the opportunity to work with the whole animal, which we think is the responsible way to consume.

What are some of your most popular products?

Customers love our beef and lamb selections as they’re all directly imported fresh, chilled and never frozen. Bone-in cuts like the porterhouse and tomahawk are especially popular, as these aren’t always available in supermarkets. And the ribeye and striploin are favourites, too.

We’re also starting to showcase more alternative cuts of meat that aren’t commonly found in most retail shops – for example, top sirloin, rump steak and Bavette steak, which is a smooth fine grain muscle on the underbelly of the beef. I think if we can convince every customer coming through our doors to find their favourite alternative steak cut, we can do justice to the farmers and animals.

The barley-fed beef range, like Vintage Galiciana beef, is another cult favourite. These mature cattle are free to relax and roam pastures, feeding only on grass until they’re at least 60 months, which is more than twice the age of regular cattle. This results in a distinctly rich and developed grass-fed flavour, alongside superb marbling – similar to the concept of aged cheese and wine!

We also have dry-aged beef, which we age in our own temperature controlled dry-ageing room. Customers who have a specific dry-ageing schedule in mind can drop us a message for a special order.

A recent launch is our 100 percent natural sausages, handmade in-house with natural casings, meat and spices. These sausages are nitrite-free and freshly made in small batches using the same ethically sourced meat you see on the site.

What’s next?

Part of our effort to sell the whole animal puts us in a position to utilise every part of the animal. So we’re in the process of building a small commercial kitchen that will help us cook down tougher cuts of meats into stews and soups. If you have a recipe you think we should look at, please let us know!

We’re also excited about expanding our product range. We plan to bring in fresh Maple Pork from Canada, grow our Japanese wagyu range, and experiment with new recipes with our newly launched sausages.

Later this year, we’ll be ready to launch our own smokehouse and cooking room! We’re looking forward to offering a wider range of quality meat products.