Case Study
Wild Pastures Burger Company: A Case Study in Sustainable and Paleo-Focused Brand Development
Boulder, CO
The Project
In 2019, The Gilkey Restaurant Consulting Group was approached by a group of business owners to assist them in the developing a Paleo fresh cooked to order burger concept. The owners, favorable to the benefits of maintaining a Paleo diet, desired brand development that would help others benefit from the diet. At the center of the diet is consuming pasture raised, grass fed, grass finished beef and other meat products.
In addition, this group has identified there has been extensive research conducted on the positive effects a Paleo diet can have on the environment and the results are amazing to consider. There’s significant scientific evidence that pasture raised, grass fed, grass finished beef and other meats reduce carbon in the atmosphere and can reverse the effects of global warming.
At its core the mission at Wild Pastures Burger Company was:
1. Create the healthiest fast casual burger chain in the world with the highest quality ingredients.
2. To be the most environmentally responsible fast casual restaurant chain in the world, where not only are we dedicated to "do less harm,” but we're committed to being a SOLUTION to some of the biggest environmental issues of our time, including climate change, water quality, soil health, and protecting ecosystems.
The Challenge
Based on these important dual missions TGRCG set out to create and launch this exciting new brand and help these business owners get the message out and realize their vision.
As it relates to the menu development and food, the team wanted to create a burger concept where EVERYTHING on the menu is something you can feel GOOD about eating. While our focus was on sourcing the absolute best quality regeneratively raised grass-fed and grass-finished beef, we also wanted to make sure the fries, shakes, and sodas were healthy too.
One of the biggest issues of our time are the environmental and ecological issues caused by agriculture methods on BOTH the "plant-based" side, as well as the way animals are raised in modern feedlots.
Some of these issues are caused by destructive forms of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, soil erosion, soil destruction by pesticides and fertilizers, water pollution, and ecosystem damage. When we created Wild Pastures Burger Co, we wanted to not only "do less harm", but we wanted to be an actual SOLUTION to all these problems. Our beef is sourced 100% from regenerative ranches and farms that are performing holistic rotational grazing methods on ecologically diverse pasture lands.
These holistic rotational grazing methods have been scientifically studied and proven to sequester more carbon from the atmosphere and into soils, all while building topsoil fertility, protecting the soils from erosion with our dense pasture grasses, allowing more water to infiltrate into groundwater supplies, and protecting water quality of streams, rivers, and groundwater.
Our founders, keen on the paleo diet movement, wanted to create the only burger chain that used healthier frying oils for our fries, and the absolute best frying oil in our opinion is 100% grass-fed tallow.
And what about the shakes? As you may know, milkshakes at most restaurant chains often contain anywhere from 60 to 100 grams of carbs, most of that being sugar. Our delicious rich creamy milkshakes use no added sugar and exclusively organic cream. If you're a keto diet enthusiast or just trying to cut back on sugar, you're going to LOVE Wild Pastures creamy delicious shakes.
Our Solution
It has become our belief consumers are eager to rally behind businesses organized around noble and upright causes. So, when we engage in brand development, we look for uniqueness.
Tesla is a great example. Consumers willingly pay more for a Tesla because they believe they are helping the environment. In fact, Tesla wins major points in this regard because it is passionately dedicated to one day solving our planet's energy problem. People feel good about driving a Tesla because they no longer need to buy gas, and as a bonus, they're helping the planet in the process.
The important takeaway that relates to Wild Pastures Burger Co. is that organizing a brand around noble causes is good for mankind and businesses that support these causes.
Services Provided
We felt this was an impressive vision, mission and were delighted when asked to join their team. Being local business owners, we felt there are two advantages they had when launching this brand. First is the community’s natural propensity to frequent fast casual restaurants and two, embrace local restaurant operators.
TGRCG services developing this exciting new concept included a feasibility study, business plan, brand development, custom design development, kitchen & bar design consulting, kitchen design, menu development, recipe development, management recruitment, management training, employees & training, development and implementation of all operations consulting, supervision and coordination of pre-opening team member training and concept launch.