What should I check before buying a custom cut-and-wrap or game processing shop?

In a custom shop the customer brings the animal and takes the meat home. The shop sells labour, skill and trust. That is unlike a plant that buys and sells product. A buyer is purchasing a service business with a very uneven calendar, and a reputation that customers have built up over years of getting their own meat back.

Seasonal bookings

Ask when the shop is busy and when it is quiet. Hunting season may bring a rush in a few weeks, while farm customers book at other times. Ask to see booking records over several years, and ask what the owner does in the slow months. Cash flow in a shop like this is lumpy, so plan for the quiet stretch as well as the peak.

Intake, tagging and tracking

Customers care deeply that they get back their own meat. Ask how animals are received, tagged and followed through cutting, wrapping and storage. Look at the paperwork and any system the shop uses. Ask how mistakes are handled and how often complaints come in. A shop with a clear, careful system is easier to hand over than one that runs on the owner’s memory.

Freezer space, customers and crew

Find out how much cold space the shop has at its busiest, and whether it ever turns work away. Ask who the repeat customers are and whether they follow the owner or the shop. Meet some of them if you can. Ask how seasonal helpers are found and trained. The due diligence guide for meat processing covers licensed plants, which is a different case.