We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexander Khan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alexander thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
When we raise beef, we focus on ensuring that they are fed only high-quality, local, and all-natural ingredients. All of our beef is pasture raised, but instead of just taking them off the pasture, we bring them into a feeding area where we feed and care for them to ensure that they are healthy, happy, and being fed exactly what they need. All of our beef is hand fed with a diet designed by our staff nutritionist. This process took us months to implement and perfect, and we are still making tweaks. One of the most interesting things we have done recently in this area is partner with San Tan Brewery to take their spent grains from the brewing process and use them to feed our cattle. It turns out that spent beer grains are highly nutritious and help to increase marbling in beef. It also creates a closed loop. The brewery buys and uses the grain, then we pick it up and feed it to our cattle. Zero waste. It is through partnerships with local businesses and our dedication to feeding our beef so that it is as perfect as we can make it that truly sets us apart.
Alexander, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are a local, all-natural beef business in Arizona. Our ranch is located in the northern part of the state right along the Verde River. All of our cattle are raised in the gentile banks and rolling hills alongside the river. This gives then unparalleled access to a unique mix of grasses, plants, and mineral rich free-flowing water.
Moon River Beef oversees the entire process. Our whole herd is pasture raised. We then take out the best ones to place in our custom feeding program. Each beef is fed a mix of grains and grasses that was designed by our staff nutritionist. In sourcing our ingredients, we work with local partners to ensure that we are getting the best natural products we can.
We offer both grass-raised and grain-finished beef. And sell both individual cuts and larger packs, as well as eighths, quarters, halves, and whole beefs. We custom cut everything to meet the needs of our customers. We sell to both individuals and restaurants, and can be found locally in Phoenix at the Downtown Phoenix Farmer’s Market.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
We started our business in the middle of the pandemic. We were looking to change our business model from a traditional one, where we sold our cattle at auction, to one that was more local and customer focused. Yet doing anything during the pandemic was extremely difficult. Supply was a major problem. Finding and getting local feed was extremely difficult, but it forced us to make connections and build relationships with local growers and producers. Further, the pandemic led us to build a business that could be run entirely online. We designed our website so that customers could order exactly what they want and have it delivered to their front door. Yet creating an e-commerce platform for beef, which is usually bought in person, took some ingenuity. While the pandemic created challenges, it also created opportunities to rethink our approach.
How did you build your audience on social media?
When we started on social media we were truly beginners. We read articles online about the best way to reach people, and asked just about anyone we could for tips and advice. What we ultimately found was that the best way to reach people is to give them a true glimpse into your world. It’s not just about showing off product, it’s about showing people how things are done. Through our facebook and instagram, Moon River Beef lets its customers understand how its beef is raised, the feed that is used, how the cattle are handled, and both the triumphs and the hardships. Raising all-natural beef is not an easy task, and our customers really enjoy learning about that process and meeting the people who do it.
Follow Moon River Beef on social media to see more of what we do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moonriverbeef.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/moonriverbeef/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonriverbeef/
Image Credits
All pictures were taken by me, Alexander Khan