Fork it over
Halifax entrepreneur launches online business aimed at beef connoisseur

CANADIANS are buying plenty of items online these days. But are they willing to buy premium steaks over the Internet? Matt MacQuarrie thinks they are, and he’s established a Halifax-based business called Fuego Diablo where meat lovers can order steaks that will be delivered to your door. “Luxury brands, there is so much of that with scotch, wine, and cheese,” MacQuarrie says. “But can you name me a brand-name steak you eat at home? That category is wide open.”

MacQuarrie is hoping to turn Fuego Diablo into a household name in that category, with hungry customers willing to pay top dollar for his beef. So why invest as much as $80 for a single Porterhouse steak from MacQuarrie’s online outlet when you can go to a grocery store and pick one up for less than $20?

The reason is that MacQuarrie says he’s offering steak you can’t get at those grocery stores. Fuego Diablo sells “prime” meat that is the top one-to-two per cent graded beef in the U.S. and Canada. It’s the kind of steak customers can normally only find at the best steakhouses in North America.

But thanks to Fuego Diablo, Canadians looking for a great steak don’t have to make a trip to a New York City or Toronto steakhouse. They can order it from Fuego Diablo, where the product is brought into Halifax, aged there and shipped anywhere in Canada.

It’s tough to stand out in the competitive online shopping world. But MacQuarrie says no one else in Canada is offering premium steaks online, and he thinks his business will be a hit. “My goal is to have 10,000 shipments in the next 12 months,” MacQuarrie says. “We’re offering something you just can’t get elsewhere.”