Our Story
Est. 1949
What does a village of fewer than 250 people have to offer to an entire country? We like to think quite a lot. Here in Drake, Saskatchewan, we understand two things pretty well: great food, and great company—the very same words the entire Drake Meats legacy is built upon.
From Humble Beginnings
Drake Meats began in the heart of a small community. Its doors opened 67 years ago as a co-operative meat locker. Around this time, local farmer Norman Ediger had a simple passion for great food and great people. With a clear vision to serve the Drake area through custom processing, he left the family farm and took a General Manager position at the locker plant. To realize the co-operative’s full potential, Norman acquired all existing shares, and thus the Drake Meats family legacy was born.
From the Ashes
Since he was 2 years old, Norm’s son Kelly spent time at the plant to be with his parents and grandparents; all three generations worked together to keep the business running. After years of working in every department, Kelly bought the company from his father in 1980. Disaster struck less than two years later when a gas-leak fire torched the whole facility. Just like that, the family’s entire livelihood was wiped out overnight. Despite losing everything, Kelly and Norm were determined to overcome this devastating reality. Seeing the potential of starting afresh, they decided to rebuild…
From Villages to Cities
With a new building came a new mandate: to expand our lineup of craft recipes that people love and proudly share with their family and friends. After hundreds of ingredient changes, taste tests, and a whole lot of smoked meat, we began to share our craft with neighbouring communities…and once they got a taste, they couldn’t get enough. Our meats began to delight village after village, town after town, and eventually city after city. After hearing so many flattering responses about our products and family-like customer service, our mission became clear:
“To bring people together around good food.”
Today
Today, Drake Meats products are offered in every major grocery chain province-wide, with continued expansion across Canada. Like most small town families, ours continues to grow and evolve. What started as a group of 8 employees has now multiplied tenfold. However, regardless of how much the company grows, we’ll never abandon our original values. From our employees to our customers, and everyone in between, we commit to building strong relationships and bringing people together around good food.
Our Family
Food brings people together, and so do we. Since 1949, we’ve welcomed over 70 individuals into the diverse team that we are today. Find out a little more about our people, and see for yourself what makes us so unique.
Our products are available at Federated Co-op stores, Sobeys stores, Loblaws, Costco and many other affiliated and independent retail grocery outlets throughout Saskatchewan.