5 Success Lessons from Paul Willis, Niman Ranch’s Co-Founder

This is a guest post from the Food Finance Institute (FFI), a Business & Entrepreneurship program of the University of Wisconsin. FFI leverages and supports a collaborative network of professionals focused on building and funding profitable businesses in the food, beverage and value-added agriculture sector. 

Tera Johnson, Director of FFI, recently spoke with Paul Willis, Niman Ranch’s co-founder, as part of a series of interviews with famous founders. Paul Willis went from pasture-raising pigs on his farm in Iowa to overseeing over 750 farmers and ranchers in the nationwide Niman Ranch network. Refusing to adopt the CAFO model of hog farming, he stuck to his values, partnered with sustainable beef producer Bill Niman and helped build Niman Ranch into the esteemed sustainable meat brand it is today.
 
Paul’s journey is loaded with lessons for all food and farm entrepreneurs, regardless of business size, scope or segment. Here are five key takeaways to keep in mind when launching or scaling.

1. It’s gotta taste good. Sadly, taste can get lost in the shuffle when making strategic decisions around cultivating or sourcing ingredients or manufacturing products. A brand might have a compelling social mission or the most sustainable offering in its category, but if the food isn’t scrumptious, it won’t sell. Just as Niman Ranch routinely samples its farmers’ meats to ensure they’re delicious, food and farm businesses should never lose focus on product quality. 

2. Find your target market. It would be awesome to count everybody as a customer, but that’s not realistic—especially for premium-quality, sustainably produced, delicious food. Back in the ’90s, Paul knew most Iowans wouldn’t pay more for his pork, so he sought out a customer base that valued his farming methods and mission enough to justify the price tag. Locking into Bill’s Bay Area market gave him that ever-important foothold, which allowed Niman Ranch to grow organically.

Thanks to the internet, entrepreneurs today are less limited by geography, but it still takes work to find those core customers who’ll become raving fans and help expand the brand. Research, research, research to identify ideal buyers and then deliver on the brand proposition.

3. You can’t do everything yourself. Most entrepreneurs possess a broad skill set, but no entrepreneur can do it all. The most successful food and farm businesses are collaborative efforts. Paul knew how to raise hogs, but not how to further-process or market them—those were Bill’s fortes. By working together, their company flourished. Know your strengths and limitations, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

4. Invest in supply chain resiliency. As a business gains traction, it’s important to think about sourcing long-term. Will key ingredients still be available and affordable in two, five or 10 years? Can today’s farmland sustain future production? There are many ways to invest in the supply chain upfront to ensure its resiliency. For Niman Ranch, this means nurturing the next generation of farmers by offering free breeding stock and college scholarships for farmers’ kids interested in ag.    

5. Acquisition doesn’t have to mean sellout. Big food companies buy up startups all the time, and it doesn’t necessarily mean the little guy was in trouble—or that it “sold out.” Oftentimes, an acquisition is a boon for the small brand, providing the capital and reach to further its mission. According to Paul, this is what happened when Perdue Farms bought Niman Ranch. Of course, it doesn’t always work out this way, so founders should be discerning when entertaining offers. But if the right company comes knocking, it could be an incredible opportunity.  

Watch the full conversation between Tera Johnson and Paul Willis.