Spring 2007 issue of Horizons

Client Spotlight

restaurants around Kansas City. Scavuzzo had worked at the family business his entire life but never expected to make it his career. However, when other opportunities didn’t present themselves upon graduation, he accepted a job at the family company in 1984. “On my first day in the office, I asked my dad what to do, and he said to stay out of the way,” said Scavuzzo. As a result, Scavuzzo directed his attention to a new venture for the company – catalogue orders. Capitalizing on Kansas City’s reputation for great steaks, he called the mail order portion of the business Kansas City Steak Co. As the 1980s progressed, the catalogue portion grew but only accounted for 8-10 percent of the company’s revenues. In 1995, Kansas City Steak signed a deal with QVC and became the No. 1 selling food product, catapulting the company to a national marketplace. 2007 is a record year for Kansas City Steak, despite market conditions such as the most difficult raw material pricing and availability ever. Kansas City Steak is very strict about the quality of the product and prides itself on using all western Kansas corn-fed beef. “Our philosophy is that you will pay more for our product than what you buy in a grocery store, but that product will compare to what you can get in a steakhouse at a fraction of the cost,” said Scavuzzo. This commitment to quality has made the mail order side of the business very successful. The company ships up to 70,000 packages a week and has a strong following in the Northeast, where QVC is based. The company briefly ventured into Japan in the late ’80s and is exploring other international opportunities, but its primary targets are domestic. The Internet has had a huge impact on the company’s growth. “The Internet levels the playing field with our competition. It enables us to go up against companies 10 or even 20 times our size,” said Scavuzzo. Kansas City Steak is finding new ways to use the Internet. In addition to its company Web site, it currently is developing a site for steak enthusiasts and another more general site that includes blogs, recipes and links to www.kansascitysteaks. com. Aside from the Internet and QVC, Kansas City Steak also mails out catalogues to frequent buyers. On the foodservice side, Kansas City Steak supplies steaks for many well-known restaurant chains throughout the country. Scavuzzo said that the company looks for customers

A Commitment to Quality What began in 1932 as a small Kansas City meat market has grown into a foodservice and mail order dynasty 75 years later. Current president Edward Scavuzzo’s great-grandfa- ther started a retail store during the Great Depression. That store has evolved into the Kansas City Steak Co. Today, the company distributes a wide variety of meat products to restaurants across the Midwest and delivers packaged gourmet products nationwide. The retail store existed for nearly 50 years – in 1980, Scavuzzo’s father, uncle and grandfather decided to focus entirely on foodservice, delivering meat to hotels and

15 u summer 2007 issue

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