The delicious Raider Red Meats taste can now be found in local Lubbock
supermarkets. The Texas Tech University meat science and muscle biology program recently introduced Raider Red Meats to the shelves of Lowes and United supermarkets. In the past ten years, the program has proven excellence in meats judging, but perhaps more importantly, in learning the business aspects of each step of the meat production process.
Raider Red Meats has emerged as a business model for students. Aged beef, pork, and lamb are available for purchase at COWamongus! inside the Department of Animal and Food Science on the Texas Tech campus. Also available are other products such as fully-cooked and ready-to-eat meats, prime rib, brisket and sausage. The number one selling product on campus is a 14 oz. prime aged beef ribeye steak.
To meet the growing demand for products, Raider Red Meats has expanded past sales only on campus. Last January, United Supermarkets began selling two types of smoked sausage and three types of bacon from Raider Red Meats. Lowe’s Neighborhood Supermarkets have also recently begun putting Raider Red Meats on their shelves
in Lubbock.
Raider Red Meats director Brad Price says, “Every dollar made by the company goes directly back to students and the program”.
The meat science program aims for students to learn the quality and service measures that go into running a business successfully. The goal of the program is to develop a Masters in Business in Meat Science.
Dedication and excitement can be seen in the eyes of Price as he talks about the accomplishments and the quality of learning students in the program receive. Red Raider students are heavily involved in the production process. Meat science students graduate Texas Tech with highly-valuable education from both the production and business side, which continues to make graduates marketable.
This spring, Raider Red Meats will sponsor a competition open to the public. The first annual Texas Tech BBQ Cook-Off will be in March 2011. The event will be in conjunction with the Texas Tech Red Raider spring football game. Live music and great food are expected to draw a large crowd to Texas Tech. After the initial year, the team has high hopes of the event to become the largest paid cook-off in Texas and possibly the nation.
Price said, “The number one focus of Raider Red Meats is to teach students the value of business and instill life lessons and teamwork that will continue long after leaving Texas Tech”.
The program strives to become the university leader in the way new business in done by taking products produced at Texas Tech far beyond the local supermarket shelves in Lubbock. Raider Red Meats is attempting to develop a business model for students.