Crowd Cow
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Contiguous United States |
Number of employees | 90 (2020) |
| Website | www |
Crowd Cow operates as a U.S.-based online marketplace specializing in meat delivery, linking consumers directly with fishermen and livestock producers.
Headquartered in Seattle, the company was established in 2015 by Joe Heitzeberg and Ethan Lowry. While initially concentrating on beef products, it has since broadened its offerings to include poultry, pork, lamb, and seafood. Crowd Cow prioritizes sourcing from farms dedicated to sustainable agriculture and humane animal care, providing grass-fed and grass-finished beef free from hormones and unnecessary antibiotics.
In 2017, the firm introduced Japanese A5 Wagyu beef imports, which sparked controversy due to concerns about competition with domestic ranchers. Crowd Cow has attracted $25 million in investment from backers such as Maveron, Zulily founders Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon, Joe Montana, and Ashton Kutcher.
History
Crowd Cow was launched in mid-2015 by Joe Heitzeberg (previously founder of Snapvine) and Ethan Lowry (co-founder of Urbanspoon), inspired by the idea of crowdfunding meat purchases directly from farms. Their goal was to streamline access to premium meat by eliminating middlemen.
Early efforts to partner with ranchers were challenging, but they eventually secured contracts with two farms near Seattle. To gauge consumer interest, they ran a Kickstarter campaign selling shares of a steer, which sold out rapidly across several states.
By January 2016, the company operated solely within Washington state with partnerships involving six farms and had generated $1 million in sales. Utilizing proprietary software, Crowd Cow managed customer shares of individual animals and optimized shipping routes based on weather conditions. Initially, animals were only procured after orders were placed; however, due to increasing demand, they began purchasing livestock in advance and employing dry aging techniques.
By January 2017, nearly 100 head of cattle had been delivered; this number increased to 300 by August the same year. That year also marked the expansion of shipping services nationwide (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), with distribution centers established in Seattle and Lancaster, Pennsylvania to serve customers on both coasts. The workforce grew to 22 employees by August 2017.
Self-financed until early 2017, Crowd Cow secured $2 million in seed capital led by Fuel Capital with participation from Maveron, Zulily founders, and NFL quarterback Joe Montana. Montana highlighted the company's openness and specialized market focus as reasons for investment despite criticism from animal welfare advocates.
In May 2018, the company raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Madrona Ventures, including contributions from Montana, Ashton Kutcher, and Guy Oseary's Sound Ventures. Monthly revenue at that point had reached $1 million—a tenfold increase compared to the previous year.
That same year, Crowd Cow partnered with Seattle-based Shake Shack to supply grass-fed beef for their "Montlake Double Cut" burger. By 2019, annual revenue had climbed to $10 million. Prior to a Series B round in November 2019 that raised $15.1 million, Kutcher's Sound Ventures invested an additional $1 million via convertible notes.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated growth significantly as more consumers cooked at home; revenue increased fourfold during the early phase of the crisis. By mid-2020, Crowd Cow's team had expanded to 90 employees.
Products
Originally concentrating exclusively on beef, Crowd Cow now offers a range of premium meats, including top-tier Japanese A5 wagyu. The company has broadened its selection to incorporate chicken, pork, lamb, and seafood. It also features specialty meats such as bison and seasonal offerings like turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday. Introduced in May 2018, the pork lineup includes pork chops, ribs, chorizo, bacon, and sausage sourced from Deck Family Farms in Oregon and Autumn's Harvest Farm in New York.
Transparency is a cornerstone of Crowd Cow’s approach; the company provides comprehensive details about its ranch partners and animal welfare standards on its platform. It exclusively partners with independent farms, deliberately steering clear of factory farming operations. While initial beef sourcing was limited to the U.S. and Japan, by 2018 suppliers from Tasmania were added. By 2020, Crowd Cow had established relationships with 100 farms spanning 23 states. Its seafood selection features products like Maine lobster, Icelandic Arctic char, lingcod, halibut, blue shrimp, and Dungeness crab, primarily obtained through fishery cooperatives.
Customers can subscribe to a recurring box service that delivers seasonal meat assortments typically ranging between . Crowd Cow enables consumers to purchase smaller portions of high-quality ranch-raised beef at prices competitive with Whole Foods Market and conventional butcher shops. The platform offers a variety of cuts such as New York strip steak, rib eye steak, Coulotte steak, flat iron trimmings steak, and filet mignon. Additionally, less common selections including heart, tongue, liver, kidneys, tail, hooves, and bones for broth are available. The company recommends cooking beef no more than medium rare to maintain optimal flavor and texture.
Wagyu beef
On July 12, 2017, Crowd Cow commenced importing Japanese A5 Wagyu beef from Mirai Farm located in Kagoshima Prefecture, becoming recognized as "the largest single importer and online retailer" of this premium product within the United States. Co-founder Joe Heitzeberg—who studied Japanese at the University of Washington—personally visited producers and butchers in Japan to gain firsthand knowledge of wagyu craftsmanship. Crowd Cow was the pioneer importer of Olive Wagyu, a rare breed raised on Shōdoshima cows fed a diet including olive oil, rice straw, and ryegrass. This Olive Wagyu earned the "Best Fat Quality" distinction at the 2017 Wagyu Olympics among 182 competing brands. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic closures that affected many restaurants, Crowd Cow emerged as the leading supplier of Japanese A5 wagyu directly to American consumers, accounting for over half of that market.
The company’s importation of wagyu drew criticism for potentially disadvantaging American ranchers focused on grass-fed cattle and seeming to conflict with its stated mission to deliver "healthy, high-quality, sustainable meat" sourced from "local farms." In response to these concerns, Crowd Cow amended its mission statement by removing references to "local" and "sustainable." To boost wagyu sales, the company produced various articles, videos, and social media campaigns and organized a haiku contest with a Japanese knife as the prize. Among submissions was one from James Beard Award winner Adam Danforth: "The Best Beef/ Is Found On American Farmland/ Vote With Your Money."
Allotment, preparation and shipment of meat
The animal is segmented into roughly 50 individual portions. Customers purchase shares of a single cow and receive a scheduled shipping date along with an online visual showing the cow "tipping" once 67% of its shares have been sold. Payment is only collected after the cow reaches this tipping point, following a model similar to Kickstarter. Once tipped, the animal is slaughtered, labeled with a barcode, and transported to one of Crowd Cow’s distribution facilities (which numbered two as of 2017). The meat is vacuum-sealed, frozen using dry ice inside insulated Styrofoam containers, and shipped to buyers accompanied by recipes customized to the specific cuts they ordered.
By 2019, Crowd Cow abandoned the crowdsourced sales approach to better accommodate nationwide scaling and respond to consumer preferences for quicker delivery and avoidance of less favored cuts such as tongues and oxtails. The company shifted to purchasing whole animals upfront from ranchers, even though not all parts were always sold. A standard cow produces approximately premium steaks, roasts, and over of ground beef. Since ground beef represents the largest but least desired portion, Crowd Cow managed excess inventory by offering discounts or donating it. Co-founder Heitzeberg highlighted several methods for addressing surplus minced meat, including collaborations with venues like Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park and Shake Shack that used it as a loss leader.
In 2018, Crowd Cow transitioned from buying entire animals outright to consignment agreements where ranchers cover processing charges at approved facilities and handle packing and delivery to Crowd Cow hubs. If meat remains unsold after 90 days, ranchers are responsible either for its return shipping or storage expenses. Crowd Cow retains a 22% commission on sales and imposes additional fees on ranchers for payment processing, dry ice, and packaging. This contractual arrangement drew criticism from some ranchers who felt the sales risk was unfairly shifted onto them. Crowd Cow defended this change as essential for maintaining sustainable business operations. Marilyn Noble of The Counter characterized Crowd Cow’s evolution as moving away from bulk purchasing toward a platform model akin to gig-economy services like Grubhub or Airbnb—taking significant revenue shares while providing access to an extensive consumer base.
Sustainable agriculture
Crowd Cow prioritizes sustainable farming by sourcing meat exclusively from animals raised without hormones or non-essential antibiotics. It partners with farms that administer antibiotics solely for genuine medical treatment rather than growth enhancement. The product range mainly consists of grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pasture-raised poultry, and heritage pork—supporting producers who follow traditional grazing methods instead of industrial factory farming. This system enables small-scale farmers to bypass conventional auctions and marketplaces, connecting directly with consumers.
To further sustainability efforts, Crowd Cow invests in carbon offsets to mitigate shipping emissions and employs environmentally conscious packaging materials. Industry specialists acknowledge Crowd Cow as a trailblazer in the "craft beef" sector, advocating for ethical and eco-friendly beef production practices. This strategy assists farmers in lowering marketing expenses, increasing pricing leverage, and improving livestock supply forecasting.
Additionally, Crowd Cow provides subscription plans ranging from six months to one year designed to offer farmers more predictable demand patterns. Nevertheless, some ranchers find these relatively short commitment periods difficult due to cattle raising cycles spanning multiple years. For instance, a Pennsylvania-based producer experienced financial setbacks when Crowd Cow unexpectedly ceased purchases. Concerns about venture capital influence have been addressed by co-founder Heitzeberg, who reaffirmed the company’s dedication to its founding principles without intentions of pursuing an exit strategy.
The crowdsourcing approach tackles the difficulty posed by large quantities of meat by allowing customers to buy shares in individual animals directly—eliminating intermediaries such as grocery stores. This direct-to-consumer model broadens product diversity and market access beyond what independent farmers could achieve alone. Ranchers benefit by focusing on cattle husbandry rather than marketing efforts while receiving farm attribution on product labels to preserve their reputation.
Reception and commentary
In a 2018 review by The Arizona Republic, journalist Weldon B. Johnson remarked that Crowd Cow's beef offers a "pleasant, beef-forward taste" and remains tender when cooked correctly. He characterized it as "a luxury purchase" due to its premium pricing—sometimes double that of similar supermarket meats—but stressed that the true worth is found in the transparency about the ranchers and cattle, as well as the overall experience. Daniel Modlin of The Daily Beast commended Crowd Cow for its convenience and superior flavor profile. Amanda Tarlton from Reviewed rated it "10/10 worth it" for consumers who prioritize top-tier meat while supporting independent farmers.
Jody Allard, writing for The Guardian, emphasized Crowd Cow’s commitment to sourcing transparency, contrasting it with large-scale food retailers where product origins are frequently unclear. Connie Chen of Business Insider highlighted the "tasty and flavorful" selection alongside ethical sourcing practices, noting that Crowd Cow reliably offers sustainably raised meats.
Dominic Armato of The Arizona Republic described the "Kagawa A5 olive Wagyu strip steak" as a standout gastronomic experience, likening its rich marbling and fat content to foie gras. Allen Foster from BestReviews praised the outstanding quality and prompt delivery but mentioned some disadvantages such as a $50 minimum purchase requirement, complimentary shipping only on orders exceeding $149, and shipping durations that can extend up to eight days.
With increasing consumer interest in grass-fed beef, supermarkets may face mounting pressure to broaden their selections. Nevertheless, Columbia University professor Brian Kateman expressed doubts about Crowd Cow’s capacity to maintain customer loyalty if conventional retailers begin offering grass-fed options at more competitive prices, suggesting that novelty and convenience alone might not be enough. Marilyn Noble of The Counter reported that some ranchers felt taken advantage of by Crowd Cow’s model, citing a lack of sustained investment and a failure to fully grasp the complexities of the meat industry, which led to strained relationships with producers.