Outback Beef scoops accolades at Port Hedland business awards

Homegrown Pilbara business Outback Beef has taken out two awards at the Port Hedland Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Excellence Awards. Outback Beef was crowned Best Micro Business (0-6 employees) and Best Overall Business at the July 20 event, as well as being in the top four finalists for the People’s Choice Award. Founder and owner Annabelle Coppin said every member of the Outback Beef team was proud of the achievements. “This is not just an agricultural award; we were up against some really good businesses in the Pilbara so it is a great endorsement and encouragement for the team,” she said. Launched in 2016, Outback Beef is focused on building a sustainable business into the future to ensure the next generation can continue to manage Yarrie Station while producing a natural beef product. “Our brand is about the long term; it’s about building trust and rapport with our customers, helping to develop our social licence so we can keep managing the land and telling our story while supplying a really good, natural, beef product,” Ms Coppin said. “We have been operating Yarrie Station since the 1800s and it was a childhood frustration of mine that in cattle country, people weren’t eating local beef. “It’s been a long dream since I was a child and now it’s about the team around me, caring for our country and looking after our cattle.” Ms Coppin said Outback Beef was currently focused on providing domestic boxed beef but in the long term may enter the export market. She described the brand’s development so far as a “slow burn”. “We want slow growth as there is no real manual on how to develop a beef brand,” Ms Coppin said. “The margins are tight and it can be risky, so gradual increase in growth is what we are after. “This year we have had more challenges than most, with an influx of cheap meat while processing and on-farm input costs have skyrocketed.” Outback Beef is currently the only locally produced beef product servicing the Pilbara. Ms Coppin said this market would remain the company’s focus because it offered the most opportunity. “If you can ride out the harder times it makes you stronger in the long run,” she said. Outback Beef jerky was also developing a following with the line released in 2021 and including an original and chilli flavour. Ms Coppin said the product was easier to ship with online orders because it did not need to be temperature-controlled. Other diversification lines within the brand include bone broth and pies. All Outback Beef products are produced from cattle born on Yarrie Station which is near Marble Bar in the Pilbara. Cattle are backgrounded on the Coppin family’s property in Badgingarra and processed locally. Currently, the brand’s boxed beef is sold in Newman, Port Hedland and Marble Bar as well as select locations in Perth. Ms Coppin said she believed provenance for beef products was becoming similar to what is seen in other food categories. All Outback Beef is Meat Standards Australia-graded, hormone growth promotant and antibiotic-free, with a unique and recognisable flavour. The latest accolades come after Outback Beef won silver in the 2023 Royal Food Awards.