When Mike Salguero struggled to find clean-labeled, 100% grass-beef for his family, he took the initiative and founded ButcherBox in 2015. Six years later, the company has grown to be more than just a convenient way of obtaining meat. Through ButcherBox, Salguero is transforming the meat industry from the inside out. By taking care of animals, treating farmers with respect, and making investments in environment forward practices, ButcherBox is focused not only on doing the right thing for the folks in the supply chain, but for hundreds of thousands of members who rely on their meat each month.

Salguero is the Keynote speaker for this year’s Urner Barry Executive Conference. Typically consisting of industry leaders in the egg and poultry sectors, the Executive Conference is an annual mainstay to the Las Vegas area. Salguero brings a unique perspective of innovation and forward-thinking that will educate guests on the constant evolution of the protein industry.

“My goal is to bring the audience through the transformation of the protein industry,” says Salguero. “I’ll be highlighting the internet transformation that has happened over the past decade and underscoring the importance that we all must lean into the transformation that is ahead of us with regard to consumers and the role health and sustainability play into their purchase decisions.”

The protein industry has had a very challenging year with labor issues, supply chain disruptions and high prices on all commodities, yet Salguero remains positive in the country’s preference for meat. “Eating meat remains the norm for Americans,” he says. “While we’re seeing a slight rise in flexitarian-ism, it is mainly due to those individuals wanting to eat better meat. We’ve been focused on claims-based meat that considers the animal, the farmer, and the environment since ButcherBox was founded in 2015. That has always been considered niche, however as consumers become more aware of where their food comes from and how it is sourced, the category has become less niche and we’re seeing companies take more of an interest in building claims-based programs because of that.”

This constant growth of consumer knowledge is something that ButcherBox and Salguero think will be the motivator for consumer decision making in the years to come. “Consumers have become more attuned to where their products come from regardless of which category they are buying – protein, beauty, apparel, etc,” says Salguero. “COVID may have accelerated that buying attitude in the meat industry when the supply chain issues were exposed, however we know from data prior to COVID that consumers were heading in this direction anyways… 35% of consumers note the importance of social responsibility from the brands they buy – that is a signal to brands that aren’t making that a focus, that they should if they want to keep the next generation of consumers as customers.”

Come see Mike Salguero and more at this year's Executive Conference being held May 1-3 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. To learn more and to reserve your spot, visit the event page HERE.