Standard Meat Company Celebrates 90 Years with New Fort Worth Facility, Purpose-Driven Culture, and Bold Vision for Growth

Proven Leadership, People-First Focus, and an Innovative New Plant Build on Strong Family Foundation for the Future

Standard Meat Company (SMC), a fourth-generation, family-owned innovator in the protein processing and packaging industry, celebrated a major milestone with 90 years in business.

Founded in 1935 (with roots going back even further to a family meat stall in Fort Worth’s historic public market) the company has evolved into a global supplier for the food service and retail industries, partnering with some of the most forward-thinking brands in the space.
Today, the company is poised for even greater impact, with the recently opened fifth production facility, located near the SMC headquarters at the iconic Fort Worth Stockyards.
The new Stockyards plant joins current plants in Dallas, Irving, Saginaw and Ponder,
Texas and is Standard Meat’s most technologically advanced to date. Designed with
flexibility in mind, the new facility allows SMC to scale existing technologies like sous
vide and searing, while staying nimble to integrate new capabilities as customer
needs evolve and innovations arise.

For co-presidents and fourth-generation leaders Ben Rosenthal and Ashli Rosenthal
Blumenfeld, the plant is both an extension of the family legacy and a symbol of what
the organization has become under their leadership: agile, people-focused, and
prepared to help customers thrive in a complex, ever-changing market.
“Our grandfather Manny helped transform the meat business with Cryovac
packaging in the ’60s,” said Rosenthal. “Our dad Billy pioneered automated steak
portioning techniques. Today, we’re putting our own stamp on that legacy with
cutting-edge work in sous vide, cast-iron searing, portioning, meal-kit packaging,
and sustainable, energy-efficient ice manufacturing.”

Since taking the reins in 2019, Rosenthal and Blumenfeld have led SMC through a
period of ambitious growth — expanding from two to five facilities, rolling out
next-generation capabilities, and building long-term, collaborative partnerships with
clients in both established industries and new market spaces. Their entrepreneurial
drive has received recognition throughout the industry and beyond, with the brother-and-sister duo recently named EY Entrepreneur of the Year® national award winners.

“Ninety years in, the SMC family has weathered countless challenges and helped
guide our customers through them,” said Blumenfeld. “We understand how to
navigate uncertainty because we’ve done it before. When the world gets
complicated, we get scrappy and creative. That’s the mindset we bring to our
partners every day.”
Founded in 1935 at the height of the Dust Bowl, the company has weathered war,
recessions, market volatility, and supply chain disruption, emerging each time with
stronger capabilities and deeper partnerships.

From the beginning, the company’s internal culture has been key to its success.
Today, during an era of rapid technological growth, maintaining that culture has
taken on special importance. In honor of the 90th anniversary, Rosenthal and
Blumenfeld have launched a new Culture & Strategy Department that will work to
embed the company’s recently renewed purpose statement across every level of the
organization. That purpose — to inspire the connections and breakthroughs that
ultimately feed our life — will serve as a guiding principle for leadership
development, decision-making, and alignment for every one of the company’s 1,100
employees.
“We are building this program to cascade through the entire company,” said
Blumenfeld. “It’s an investment in everyone who works here — and by extension, all
of our customer relationships. If we’re inspiring and building the right connections
here at home, we can create those breakthroughs for our partners as well.”

Throughout 2025, SMC has celebrated its 90th anniversary with a series of
announcements, events, and historical timeline reflections — culminating in a ribbon
cutting on September 17 at the new Fort Worth facility, which had been in soft-opening production since earlier this year.
“Ashli and I often talk about Standard Meat as a 90-year-old startup,” said Rosenthal.
“We inherited a deep entrepreneurial legacy, and we‘re proud to lead with that same
mindset — always looking for the next opportunity to evolve. Our company looks very
different today than it did six years ago, and I can’t wait to see where our team takes
it in this next chapter.”