The initial inspiration for Pound of Ground Beef Crumbles started as a solution for an almost-daily challenge for Heidi and Jeff Meyer. Faced with limited options to prepare dinner quickly most nights, the married couple, who have prior experience working in the food industry at Kraft Foods and Oscar Mayer, embarked on a journey to find a solution for cooking ground meat faster, without the need for thawing.

Their experimentation began in their Madison, Wis., home, where they worked on perfecting the frozen ground beef product.

Like many entrepreneurial creations, the development process was trial and error. They started out using a meat grinder they bought at Menards and filling Ziploc bags to determine the right size for ground beef packaging.

After settling on a feasible process for the idea at home, the Meyers looked to take their ideas to the next level and refine packaging while soliciting feedback from consumers.

To ensure unbiased comments, the couple introduced an early version of the product without telling friends and family that they were the creators of it.

“We don’t want to be faked out here,” Jeff said of the first Pound of Ground tests. “We want to know this is real.”

 The Meyers confirmed that each package contained one pound of ground beef, the ideal quantity for customers. Test batches were prepared and refined in the USDA-inspected meat processing facility at the University of Wisconsin Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery building and prepared for consumer research.

To gauge market response, the couple introduced their product in Wisconsin to assess its acceptance by consumers in local retail locations.

However, they soon realized that to utilize the full potential for Pound of Ground, they needed the corporate horsepower and expertise of a high-profile processor to take it to the next level. In late 2020, JBS USA acquired the product and brand, starting the Meyers on the path of national distribution. The processing and packaging of Pound of Ground now takes place at a JBS facility in Plainwell, Mich.

The products come in original, with onion, hearty-sized and a three-pack option. Heidi added that Pound of Ground expects a grass-fed option to launch this summer.

Providing a few varieties of the same product gives consumers options to pick their meat preferences, offering a solution to meal planning that the Meyers know all too well.

“No plans for dinner, no time to defrost?” Heidi asked. “You still have dinner. That’s the basic idea.”

The soft rollout for Pound of Ground as part of JBS was initiated in spring 2021, with a national launch following in the fall of 2022.

Heidi and Jeff now work with quality assurance, production inventory and distribution arms at the processing plant in Plainwell that will help shape the future direction of products.

“We knew from our prior innovation experience that while we had a great new product developed, we wanted a partner with the national scale for production, sales and distribution,” Heidi said. “JBS was a great match.”

The product will cook from the freezer in under 10 minutes and can be used in a variety of recipes. (Source: Studio 44 / Shaun Pitts)

 

The versatility of Pound of Ground Beef Crumbles allows for a wide range of recipes, complementing various ingredients in dishes such as tacos, spaghetti, casseroles, lasagna and other hamburger-based meals. The brand’s website even provides suggested recipes for consumers who are short on time or don’t have their go-to options available.

“It’s just a natural product to put in a variety of dishes, which is fabulous,” Heidi said.

As the brand started to grow, the Meyers needed to balance the traditional ways of bringing its product to consumers, including through retail locations, but also managing the impact that social media could have on their product if it’s in front of the right influencers on Tik Tok or Instagram.

“We do the social listening to inform, but I also think we make decisions, by using the conventional market research on top of that,” Jeff said.

Experience matters

In their careers, Heidi and Jeff worked in product and brand management at prominent global food companies.

Heidi detailed how product development work prepared her for the trials and errors of any new product introduction.

“We’ve had great success in new products, but we’ve also had a few flops and we wear those scars,” she said. “We know what to look out for sometimes because something went awry on another project we worked on.”

While creating on the corporate side of food, Heidi also lent her experience to UW-Madison in the past, instructing students on the challenges of starting food products and what to expect.

“Oftentimes it’s not because of the strength of the idea,” she said. “It’s because all this other stuff that needs to happen and fall into place as well. I think it’s a good reminder that everything’s got to line up and there’s a lot of things to watch out for along the way. It’s not for the weak of heart.”

Now that Pound of Ground has expanded to more stores, efforts are focused on working with retailers to find the right place to slide into the frozen food section.

And even as they grab market share with this product, the next big thing from Meyers is about to get started. This summer, the couple plans to launch what it calls Burger Thins.

Heidi and Jeff feel Burger Thins are addressing a consumer need that’s missing in an existing item. They wanted to create a burger with taste and less indulgence with thin cutouts that can cook on a skillet or a grill.

The Burger Thins started rolling out in May, with more extensive distribution planned in the months to come.