Walmart has officially opened its first-ever case-ready beef plant in Olathe, Kan., according to a release posted by the retail giant late last week. The new facility, fully owned and operated by Walmart, will help the retailer provide beef to customers across the Midwest with more consistency and transparency, and at a better value to consumers, the company noted.
The new Olathe plant helps Walmart’s close the loop on a new approach to its beef supply, a vision of an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain. It comes on the heels of Sustainable Beef LLC opening its own new beef processing plant in North Platte, Neb. Walmart made an equity investment in Sustainable Beef in 2022 to supply Angus beef to the Olathe facility — now, Olathe will process, package and distribute fresh Angus beef sourced directly from Sustainable Beef into case-ready cuts that will be shipped to Walmart distribution centers and on to stores across the Midwest.
Walmart’s Olathe facility is expected to create more than 600 jobs for the surrounding community.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.