Niman Ranch began in the early 1970s on an eleven-acre ranch in a small coastal town just north of San Francisco. They produce

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

, lamb, and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

History

Early years

Niman Ranch was founded in 1969 by rancher William Ellis "Bill" Niman, a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

and

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teacher, who has since left the company. He had moved from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

to the small coastal town of

Bolinas, California Bolinas is an unincorporated coastal community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,483. It is located on the California coast, approximately (straight line dis ...

. There he purchased a ranch for $18,000 to begin a part-time pig, goat, and chicken farming operation. His first cattle were acquired as trade for tutoring services.

Growth and investment

By 1994, the company had developed a reputation for high quality beef, but demand was exceeding the company's production capacity. In 1994, Niman met

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

pork farmer Paul Willis, and began

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

ing Willis' pork under the name "Niman-Schell". In 1997, Niman undertook an ambitious expansion aided by management changes and several million dollars of funding. That year investors Rob Hurlbut and Mike McConnell became owner-partners and the company was renamed "Niman-McConnell". Hurlbut, a former manager of coffee for Nestle, became the CEO. Orville Schell left to become dean of the

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Graduate School of Journalism Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

. Subsequently, the company also accepted funding from Pacific Community Ventures, a

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venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

itself funded in large part by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). Revenues grew in the period, from $3 million in 1997 to $5 million in 1998, and $20 million in 2000, as Niman began to sell packaged meats in grocery stores.

Niman becomes a national brand

When

Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, food writer, and author. In 1971, she opened Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California, famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for ...

opened her

Chez Panisse Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California, restaurant, known as one of the originators of California cuisine and the farm-to-table movement, opened and owned by Alice Waters. The restaurant emphasizes ingredients rather than technique and has de ...

restaurant in 1971, Bill Niman sent her pork for evaluation. Waters agreed to buy pork from Niman, and included both the name and company logo on her menus. In 2001 Niman entered an agreement to sell pork to the

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ( ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 31, 2025, C ...

restaurant chain. To meet the demand, Paul Willis recruited hog farmers, mostly from the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, to raise pigs under contract. In 2005 Niman Ranch sold to more than 1,200 restaurants and restaurant groups. In July 2006, Chicago-based Natural Food Holdings (part of Hilco Equity Partners) bought a major stake in the company; at the time, Niman Ranch was losing close to $3 million. In January 2009, due to bankruptcy Niman Ranch was merged into its chief investor. The CEO at the time, Jeff Swain, said that the company is making $7,000 a week since Natural Food took over, rather than losing $10,000.

Embezzlement Scandal

In April 2010, former Niman Ranch treasurer Gary Steven Gross was indicted by a federal grand jury of defrauding the company of more than $1.6 million.

Bill Niman leaves Niman Ranch

In August 2007 Bill Niman left Niman Ranch after increasing confrontations with the new management team. Bill Niman is no longer part of the company and is forbidden to use his surname commercially.

Perdue buys Niman Ranch

In September 2015,

Perdue Farms Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue Foods is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company in the United States. Perdue AgriBusiness ranks among the top United S ...

, a large privately owned poultry company, announced that it was buying Natural Food Holdings, the owner of Niman Ranch.

Niman Ranch becomes Certified Humane

Beginning September 1, 2016, all of Niman Ranch’s pork, beef, lamb and processed products, including bacon, sausages, hot dogs, and hams, became Certified Humane by the

Humane Farm Animal Care Humane Farm Animal Care is a nonprofit organization established to promote and administer its certification and labeling program, ''Certified Humane Raised & Handled'', for meat, dairy, eggs and poultry raised under its animal care standards in t ...

program, making them the largest multi-protein company in the U.S. to join the program.

Footnotes

References

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External links

*{{Official website, https://www.nimanranch.com/ Agriculture companies of the United States Companies based in Oakland, California Food manufacturers of the United States Meat processing in the United States Brand name meats Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Agriculture in California Food and drink companies based in California