Kosher beef startup secures seed funding

Zephyr Foods LLC, a producer of premium and kosher beef, recently announced it has closed its seed-funding round, raising more than $1.5 million from private investors to expand product development and accelerate its direct-to-consumer initiative. The Fayetteville, AR-based startup, launched in 2017, produces Black Angus beef that is pasture-raised on family farms in Idaho and slaughtered according to the kosher rules of shechitah, which follows the most stringent and humane guidelines for processing beef. Its products are sold to foodservice and retail outlets. The company’s Glatt kosher products are marketed under the Barada Ranch brand, with additional premium cuts of beef sold under the Zephyr Meats label. Noting that most mainstream grocery stores sell kosher-certified packaged goods but not kosher beef, Zephyr Foods said it now intends to make its products available to a wider audience across the country. Later in 2018, it will launch a direct-to-consumer program that will make its retail-ready products available to consumers online. — WLJ