Iowa Pork Processor Purchased by Midwest Grocery Chain

May 19, 2023

Webster City Custom Meats is now owned by Fareway Stores, which plans to keep employees and brand names mostly unchanged.

Andy Hanacek

Webster City Custom Meats Inc., a pork processor out of Webster City, Iowa, has been purchased by Midwest Quality Wholesale Inc., a subsidiary of Fareway Stores Inc., according to local news reports. Fareway operates more than 130 grocery stores across the Midwest.

The Webster City Custom Meats brand name will remain the focus, with a slight change: Labels will now read “Webster City Custom Meats, a division of MQW Inc.” In addition, the Bell’s Mill and Prairie Gold labels will remain unchanged. The processor already makes products for Fareway under the grocery chain’s private label, according to the report.

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.