Bailey Foods is a packing plant located in eastern North Carolina. The firm specializes in roaster and barbecue pigs. Bailey Foods’ is owned by Andrew Hunt Farms, which specializes in high-quality pork production.

The packing facility is a 10,000-square foot USDA-inspected plant with more than 30 years of processing to the food service and retail food sectors. The genesis of the plant started when the Lamm family owned a restaurant and decided that if they processed their own pigs, they could control both quality and the type of specialty cuts they wanted for their restaurant clients. Eventually the family decided to quit the restaurant business and focus on processing.

Through the years Bailey Foods has developed niche markets such as suckling pigs and barbecue pigs. The segment of whole pigs for roasting or barbecue tends to skew toward regional or ethnic market sectors. Barbecue itself tends to be a U.S. mid South and Southern style that has assumed many variations. Pork tends to be traditional, probably since it was always a lower priced meat and available. The BBQ meat market is price sensitive and the company must find a price that moves product on that line of their business.

Ironically, the suckling pig or lightweight roaster is expensive to purposely produce and expensive to process when compared to the standard commercial pork production chains. However, while these products tend to price toward a luxury category, the base market target is prosperous enough to make the choice. For example, a suckling pig may cost $12 to $15 per pound at retail. Since one would need to buy approximately 1.5 pounds per guest, the cost is seriously into the luxury market. This compares to a supermarket fresh pork purchase that is nearly all edible product for under $4 per pound and often much less.

But, the roaster market is much different from the conventional so pricing is different. Suckling pigs and whole roasting pigs are quite pricey but reach a specific market, often tending toward celebration/special occasion. Says Plant Manager Mike Brown, “These markets tend to be very seasonal. Sales for suckling pigs are stronger around Christmas, with sales starting to pick up in November and remaining strong until January.”

BBQ and roasting style is also traditional in Mexican/Latino cultures. Whole animal roasting is also common in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. The growth of these cultures through immigration suggests that Bailey Foods could be well positioned to supply a market growing on its own. Their market has shown growth in the Caribbean for example.

The plant was built in 1988. Before the plant was constructed, the lagoon system was built, and the firm has kept a keen eye on ensuring they are good environmental stewards.

In addition to the meat processing, they also sell such items as heart valves and endocrine glands to pharmaceutical firms for the human and veterinary medical industry.

Generally about 180 to 200 pigs are processed through the facility per day. When processing pigs for BBQ, the hogs are generally very light weight—about 130 to 140 pounds live weight. This is roughly half the weight of conventional slaughter hogs. The actual input cost of slaughtering a small animal is similar to that of the large one, so the processing cost per pound of product is significantly higher than conventional slaughter operations.

Bailey Foods also does custom slaughter, so local farmers or pork niche groups may bring in their pigs to be processed. This aspect of the business offers several positive outcomes. Bailey Foods earns a nice service fee for custom slaughter, which helps support the overhead and financial turnover of the business. Also, by offering this service, the company supports growth in specialty pork. This growth would be in tune with the move toward more local foods. The region is ripe for significant market growth in these sectors.

Many local people also come to the plant and purchase either a BBQ hog or products such as the processed bacon and sausage or fresh pork products.

Office Manager Ellen Ray indicated that there has been a gradual increase in sales the past few years. Bailey Foods supplies to some of the major BBQ establishments in eastern North Carolina. “A key to meeting client’s needs,” says Ray, “is to have your sales people calling on customers all the time. You have to be dedicated and disciplined about calling and staying with your customer.” 

Challenges