Residents of Jerseyville, Ill. have the good fortune of having an award-winning meat processor in town, with a wide variety of flavored brats, chicken kabobs and fresh meat. So do the residents of Alton, Ill. and Edwardsville, Ill. There’s no need for those residents to compare one meat market against the others, since it’s all the same company. Starting from its Jerseyville home, Hansen Meats has spent the last decade growing and expanding its retail presence adding two additional locations in Southern Illinois.
For much of its existence — which dates back to 1951 — Hansen Meats was better known as Hansen Packing Meats, processing livestock for area farmers. Its business evolved through succeeding generations, but establishing a retail presence has been a relatively new development for the company. Spurred on by the third-generation owners, Ryan Hansen and his sister Beth Arrowsmith as president and vice president, respectively, the company has rebranded itself as Hansen Meat Co. and has focused on becoming a household name for Southern Illinois residents.