Bridging the Gap: between rural producer and urban customer

As brothers growing up on a ranch south of Calgary, it might seem natural that brothers Greg and Allan Dixon would someday come to own a butchery/charcuterie company. And, it was on a snowy day in the woods some 15 years ago when the idea was hatched to do just that. 

“We love hunting, we love eating – on that trip, we got talking about doing high quality, wild game processing. We saw a gap in the market there,” recalls Allan. At that time, both worked in downtown Calgary in unrelated fields – university grads, one working in finance, the other with an economics degree. But ranch life was in their blood, so the decision was made for Greg to go back to school to become a butcher and for the brothers to make the leap onto a new path; to leave the corporate world behind. “Without a doubt, this is a better life. It’s not like coming into work at all. We have a good team on production, packaging, and delivery. We’re all fully invested.” 

Even though the founders are doing what they love, it hasn’t been a direct line to where the business is today, operating from a 7,000 square foot space in southeast Calgary. Pioneer Butchery & Charcuterie, now with around ten employees and retail and food service customers in the Calgary and Edmonton regions, is tapping into the consumer desire for high-quality, locally-sourced meat products, and Pioneer’s version is leaning on tradition and heritage, focused on value-added products (sausages, smokies and charcuterie, meat snacks, and more), made mostly from Alberta grass-fed beef and pasteurized pork. Oh, bison, elk, duck, and turkey, make an appearance in the lineup of snack and regular products too. And, as both brothers point out, this is not a mechanized operation. All high-quality, small batch products are gluten-free with only a short list of added ingredients, highlighting the company’s tag line: Natural. Hand-crafted. Albertan. 

“It’s always been important to Allan and I. Our ingredient labels are as clean as you can get,” boasts Greg. 

About a decade ago, and after Greg had gone to SAIT to study butchery and charcuterie management, family connections led him to BC to train under a German master butcher. “I owe most of what I know about the concept of farm to fork to that experience, processing game at Gwinner’s Country Butcher,” remembers Greg. “It didn’t feel too scary to take that step from the white-collar world into the unknown. Being raised on a ranch, it felt natural that we’d come back to it in some way.” 

The younger Dixon brother eventually found his way back from BC to southern Alberta, and work at Calgary’s Empire Provisions. There he met head chef Taylor Gant (who became the company’s third co-founder). Greg started making his own sausages after hours, testing new varieties at local farmers’ markets. “When we then started Pioneer, taking over a 3,000 square foot-space in Inglewood, it was the three of us – no one got paid for a few months,” laughs Allan, adding he’s taken on consulting work (back to downtown Calgary) when times have warranted, during COVID, for example. “We could stay afloat employing Greg and Taylor. We hustled, and spent a lot of time knocking on doors. I managed an online market through our website that started during the pandemic, so that wasn’t a bad time for us.” 

 All high-quality, small batch products are gluten-free with only a short list of added ingredients, highlighting the company’s tag line: Natural. Hand-crafted. Albertan. 

“We have ups and downs, we sacrifice some freedoms – we can’t take a two-week vacation when we’re so tied to the business. And growth has come with challenges, but we’re consciously moving at a comfortable pace; we can manage it,” adds Allan who, like Greg, are both in their 30s, each with young daughters and making their homes in Calgary. The folks still live on the family acreage, where dad takes the reins at the Pioneer Outpost on the Cowboy Trail – the company’s storefront where people can stretch their legs, catch a glimpse of Alberta scenery (or a few cows),  and stock up on some of the unique Pioneer products – bacon, sausages, smokies and charcuterie, including signature flavours like lemon pistachio, cranberry walnut, or Tuscan salami varieties. Though there’s also a website and online sales, the physical space is a nice reminder of Pioneer’s heritage focus on the ‘good old days’, and an example of the company’s aim to bridge the gap between the rural producer and urban customer. 

The list of spots that carry Pioneer’s products is growing, and while Allan says word of mouth and chefs who talk amongst themselves goes a long way in enlarging Pioneer’s customer list, he adds looking at a dedicated salesperson to expand their reach across the province is on the to-do list. Right now, you’ll find Pioneer products in Calgary Co-op, Amaranth Foods, Blush Lane, L’OCA Quality Market – over 100 independent grocery stores, restaurant and food service customers (hotels including Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts, Fairmont, golf courses, etc). “When we stepped into our first space and got Rocky Mountain Resorts as our first client right out of the gate, that was massive,” adds Greg.  

Greg says though all owners come up with recipe ideas, chef Taylor is better with flavours, while he excels at the butchery side of things. “There’s not many that do everything under one roof, so we’re relatively unique. We wanted to process wild game meats for hunters; that’s seasonal, but charcuterie, sausages, other smoked products for restaurants and wholesale sales, that’s gotten good response; it’s a draw from in and around the city.” 

In the quest for new ideas and flavours, Greg points to a pizza pepperoni that has given way to a newer ‘cupping’ pepperoni being developed, a request from restaurant customers for a product that allows little pools of grease to form on top of the pepperoni rounds. From using fresh lemon rinds in charcuterie offerings to marinara and onion sausage varieties, (also wild boar, bison and blueberry, and a popular chicken apricot herb sausage) even a sought-after orange five-spice salami, the dizzying array of flavours are usually Taylor’s brainchild. “We each have our own area of the business, so things run pretty smoothly. We are not butting heads,” laughs Greg. If I have an idea for something I like, Taylor brings it to life.” 

A whirl through the website reveals the numerous meats on offer (which can be ordered for delivery or free pickup in Edmonton and Calgary on a weekly schedule). There are varieties of bacon (chili rosemary, dry cured beef brisket among them), and burgers too (bison, elk, and bacon, grassfed and more). Charcuterie lovers will have a hey-day with patés, smoked duck breast, and intriguing salamis. Sausages are big too, from Mexican to wild boar chorizo to turkey roasted red pepper. 

“Beef prices are up, game meats have gone up exponentially too,” Greg says, adding it’s always an interesting time to be a small business owner. “Tariffs haven’t hit us much, but inflation means rising costs. Still, we have great partners and customers, and a lifestyle we love. I’d say it’s pretty great.”