AgLocal Raises $1.3M, and Shifts from Meat Marketplace to Subscription Service

AgLocal, a company that previously a ‘meat marketplace’ has shifted to be a meat subscription service. And, they’ve just raised $1.3 million to bolster their beef.

The $1.3 million raise was led by Chicago Ventures, with other funding from Match.com’s CEO Sam Yagan, Bob Trahan, and all previous investors, including  Andreessen Horowitz, Midwest VC firm OpenAir Equity Partners and other angels.

Rewind two-months. AgLocal was a Kansas City-based online platform that connected meat producers with distributors and chefs looking for more ethically raised meat. Now, consumers can get six pounds of meat per month for $85, or 12 pounds for 150. Here’s what CEO Naithan Jones told Fast Company about the change:

“That was a model that wouldn’t scale effectively,” said Jones. “Restaurant margins are thin, and because restaurants require credit to operate, we recently switched to this model.”

With a choice of four compilations of meats to choose from–from lean meats to the sweetly-named “family style” whose cuts “never sacrifice flavor”–AgLocal ships from its cold-storage unit in San Francisco, where the company is now based. With five out of the six farms the company sources meat from, (the sixth in Rapid City, SD,) the meat might be local for AgLocal, but not necessarily to those who receive the shipments.

Despite the shifted business model, (and therefore perhaps the shift of locality, at least for now,) the company’s moral-approach to bringing better products to people remains the same.

“AgLocal is supporting the movement towards conscious consumerism and a more transparent food system by creating a marketplace that rewards family farms with a more fair way to participate in the market,” their website says. “We source all of our meats from farms that implement responsible ranching practices concerning animal diet, medical treatment and animal well-being. Because independent farms currently compete in an increasingly undemocratic and commoditized economy, we encourage the sustainable efforts of these ranchers by negotiating fair market prices with each farm.”

With the change to the business model, we’ll look forward to seeing if and when more farms are added to the list of AgLocal suppliers. If consumers are as interested in the boxes as investors are, those in the meat market just might be clamoring.

 FEATURED PHOTO: Ronald Sarayudej/Flickr