In the debate over which came first, the chicken or the egg, Brakebush, a family-owned company and Jordano’s premier supplier of chicken, is certain its company had their hands on both when they were founded almost 90 years ago.

In fact, the two founding brothers, Bill and Otto Brakebush, left their family farm and started hauling poultry, eggs, cows and pigs to plants in Westfield, Wisconsin. Several years later they built an egg packing plant and a chicken processing facility.

Today, Brakebush remains a U.S. and family owned and operated company with Otto’s son, Carl, as president and the third generation of Brakebush family members deeply involved in management positions within the company.

“We’re proud that Brakebush still thrives on the solid, innovative spirit of its founders,” says Carl who has been witness to major company growth. In December 2012, Brakebush entered the raw portioning part of the business through the purchase of Trinity Valley Foods in Irving, Texas. This expansion allows them to work with farmers in varying geographic areas and maintain consistent supply throughout the year.

The company’s focus is entirely on producing quality chicken. This mainstay protein has the potential to drive strong profits for restaurant operators because of its versatility, value and ability to carry flavors so well.

“Our depth of knowledge and experience with chicken is because chicken is all we do,” says Carl. “Our experience means we can bring insights, first-hand knowledge, and the expertise that ensures the chicken performs at its very best.”

It’s their understanding of the challenges of menu management that encourages Brakebush to communicate innovative ways to use their products. Working with Jordano’s for 20 years, Brakebush continues to develop multiple options for using their products on a restaurant’s menu to help reduce the number of SKUs they have to inventory.

Annually, the company hosts an intensive product training which involves orchestrating an Iron Chef scenario allowing the sales force to work with the products and be a part of developing new recipes. Meeting the trends head on, Brakebush added new flavor profiles to their chicken breading using Sriracha, bourbon and craft beer batter to enhance product options.

Educating sales people to be culinarians and helping their operators be more successful is the difference that makes Brakebush a leader in the industry.

For more information about Brakebush, visit www.brakebush.com or check them out on Facebook.

Other resources