Angus beef from Alberta and British Columbia is on the fast food menu for consumers in the greater Toronto area.
Hero Certified Burgers has more than 30 franchises in Ontario, all of them using and advertising their use of Heritage Angus Beef, a brand name for beef from 14 family ranches in Western Canada.
The beef is provided from grass-fed animals that have not been treated with antibiotics or given growth hormones.
John Lettieri, founder of the Hero Burger franchise, told the Canadian Angus Association convention June 15 that the Angus breed and its meat quality are key to his success, though his franchises demand a premium of up to three percent for the product.
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“We are value driven, we’re not price driven,” he said.
“So we are training our customers to eat 100 percent Canadian Angus beef, no hormones, no antibiotics and full traceability of our product.”
Lettieri said consumers ask about meat traceability more often than they ask about antibiotic use or supplemental hormones.
“And I think ultimately it produces a better tasting product. It’s really all about taste,” he said in a later interview.
Lettieri said Hero Burger expects to sell one million pounds of hamburger this year. The franchises serve three million people a year, many of them return customers who spend an average of $10 each.
The entrepreneur founded the Lettieri chain of coffee bars and cafes before branching into the burger business.
