Ask Todd Malone why transparency matters in a butcher shop, and the conversation quickly turns to knowledge.
Todd owns three butcher shops across Darwin and Port Douglas and has spent decades developing staff, growing businesses and adapting to the changing expectations of today's customers.
In his view, transparency is one of the most powerful tools available to independent butchers, and its biggest return is in the quality of the butchers you develop.
More than slicing meat
Customers still expect quality beef and lamb, but what that looks like in the cabinet has changed.
“It's not just about breaking down beef bodies or lamb carcasses anymore,” Todd says. “It's about how you present it, how you add value, and how you make it easy for the customer.”
Today’s independent butcher is as likely to be preparing value-added products, developing new meal ideas or helping customers choose the right cut for a particular occasion as they are breaking down a side of beef.
For Todd, that evolution creates an opportunity to attract a broader range of people into the trade and showcase the creativity and skill that modern butchery demands.
Sharing what success looks like
Many butcher shops operate with very little visibility around business performance. Todd takes the opposite approach.
“Our staff have access to our system every day. They can see what the turnover was, how many customers came through, how a new product performed last week.”
“That level of transparency brings them in and gets them involved,” he says.
Todd shares that information openly with his team. When staff can see which marinated lamb lines are moving, or how a new beef value-add is performing with customers, it changes how they approach their work.
“When things are good, let them know it's good,” he says. “It’s absolutely okay for an employee to say, ‘I'm contributing to a company that’s successful.’”
Building the next generation
Todd believes transparency also plays an important role in developing future industry leaders.
The butchers who will lead the industry tomorrow need more than knife skills. They need an understanding of customers, product performance, merchandising and business operations.
“If you want future leaders, put this information into them now,” he says.
By giving younger staff exposure to the broader business, they begin thinking differently about the products they prepare and the customers they serve.
They’re thinking about the whole retail offer, not just what’s on the board for today.
Showing the industry at its best
Transparency also extends to how the industry presents itself.
For many people outside the trade, butchery means a basic cabinet and a counter. What independent shops actually offer today is something else entirely.
Independent butcher shops combine craftsmanship, food knowledge, customer service, product development and retail expertise. From premium beef cuts and carefully prepared lamb products to ready-to-cook meals and value-added offerings, butchers are doing far more than many people realise.
Todd believes the industry should be more willing to showcase that reality.
“If you're doing great things, show it.”
When people can see the skill, creativity and opportunity that exists within modern butchery, they are more likely to consider it as a career. And when staff understand how quality products, customer service and business performance all fit together, they become more invested in helping the business succeed.
The more people understand what goes into producing great beef and lamb products, the stronger the industry becomes.