Tony's Meats - Antigonish Abbatoir Ltd.

Eating locally-produced foods is more than just a trendy way to enjoy a meal. It’s a great way to support the local economy, and it means fresher, tastier food on your plate. Nova Scotia offers a wide variety of options for those looking to try out the “locavore” lifestyle, from blueberries to apples to lobster to bacon. Bacon? Yes, bacon, and a whole host of other meat products including sausages, deli ham, kielbasa and donair meat. These are the products produced by Tony’s Meats, of Antigonish.
 
Tony’s Meats is a division of Antigonish Abattoir Ltd. Antigonish Abattoir is one of two facilities in Nova Scotia working under the Federal Inspection program for the production of fresh pork, beef and lamb, and the only privately-owned federally inspected multi-species processing plant in the Maritimes.
 
Founded in 1963, Antigonish Abattoir Ltd. is owned and operated by a collective of 15 farmers and shareholders, who recognize the importance of helping local meat suppliers get the most value out of their efforts by bringing more products to market. The company’s fresh pork and lamb products are sold in major grocery stores across the province under the Antigonish Abattoir name, while the processed meat products are part of the Tony’s Meats brand.
 
The Tony’s brand was launched in 1987 after Antigonish Abattoir Ltd. began to diversify its business by creating new products, such as cooked and cured sausages and meats, in order to make the most of their raw materials and processing facilities. The introduction of the Tony’s Meats brand quickly gave greater presence to the plant’s new products, and they’ve been making and marketing delicious deli delights ever since.
 
Dan MacGillivray, the General Manager of Tony’s Meats, has been with the company since 1998. “Our philosophy is to provide our customer with more quality, more value, and more taste,” he says. “Tony’s products are made from perfected recipes using only the freshest, high quality ingredients, giving our customers great taste and satisfaction.” Among those perfected recipes are 50 different products, including Tony’s Pastrami, Tony’s German Wieners, and the brand’s best seller, Tony’s Bacon. The company also produces several other private label products, including the Mr. Donair line, King of Donair’s cones of specially spiced donair meat, and Sobey’s Compliments brand fresh sausage.
 
Tony’s Meats has grown and evolved a great deal in the 21 years since it launched. The processed meat market is highly competitive, but Tony’s has been able to expand its retail niche within the industry in Atlantic Canada, and as a result has had to expand its operations on the manufacturing side to keep up with increased demand. In 2002, a major expansion at the processing plant was completed. The new unit included a new freezer and dry storage area, as well as more space for processing, shipping and receiving.
 
Other investments have also added to the company’s market share, and reinforced its commitment to providing superior quality local products. “Tony’s adheres to the strictest quality and safety procedures for the food processing,” MacGillivray says. “We have invested in the most modern of packaging to provide the consumer with a high quality end product.”
 
Now that Tony’s Meats has the capacity to keep up with greater product demand, the next step is to explore new markets. According to MacGillivray, “Tony’s niche markets are the local speciality meat shops like Pete’s Frootique, British Butcher, and Masstown Market, and a large portion of our business is with the retail grocery chain.”
 
Thanks to an increased interest in buying and eating more locally produced foods that support the region’s economy, new markets are opening up throughout Nova Scotia. “Our current focus, over the next year is to grow our foodservice market,” MacGillivray says. “Restaurants are looking to source more products through their distributors that are local, and Tony’s will be able to provide these customers with some high quality products.”