Beef processors can vary from strictly grinders to those who produce high-end steak cuts, as well as processors who customize their products to their customers’ demands. As in any part of the industry, processors are always looking for a niche to fill — that one product that they can provide to a steady market. In the beef sector, a breed-specific branded program may give that processor just such a niche.

Many consumers are content to purchase beef at restaurants or supermarkets without a care as to the breed of cattle from which the beef came. Enough of the population, though, favors the eating characteristics that only a specific breed can provide, and beef products that come from Hereford or Angus cattle have fared well in the marketplace.