What Urner Barry does

Urner Barry is a U.S.-based market intelligence and price-reporting firm specializing in protein commodities, founded in 1857 in New York City by Benjamin Urner and currently headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. The company delivers wholesale price quotations, proprietary indices, news, analysis, and forecasting across beef, pork, poultry, eggs, seafood, and plant protein to enterprise subscribers spanning processors, retailers, food service operators, traders, brokers, importers, government agencies, and lenders. Its core platform, COMTELL, provides benchmark quotations, customizable charting, expert analyst commentary, and real-time market alerts, while adjacent offerings include a Data Licensing API distributing 12,000+ active datasets via API, sFTP, and Excel Add-In; a Foreign Trade Data portal for U.S. seafood and red meat import/export records; and Obsono, a joint venture with Cattle-Fax delivering 6-month forecasting for red meat and poultry. Urner Barry's quotations are treated as the industry standard for contract negotiation and pricing across the U.S. protein supply chain, and the firm holds IOSCO Price Reporting Agency compliance as of February 2023.

Revenue is generated primarily through annual enterprise subscriptions to COMTELL and module-based recurring fees for Data Licensing, Foreign Trade Data, Obsono forecasting, Seafoodnews.com, and FoodMarket.com, with pricing quoted on a custom basis via a demo-led sales motion. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise with global reach, supported by content marketing through podcasts (Agri-Food for Thought, Seafood News Podcast), the Morning Market Roundup video series, the Urner Barry Blog, and presence at industry events including an annual Executive Conference and Seafood Expos. In January 2023, Urner Barry combined with Mintec (part of AgriBriefing) to form Expana, operating thereafter as part of the Mintec family of brands under unified Expana branding, with COMTELL Plus enabling unified time-series data export across Mintec, Urner Barry, and FeedInfo commodity datasets.

Name

Urner Barry

Legal name

Urner Barry

Website

https://urnerbarry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1857

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Urner Barry is a U.S.-based protein market intelligence firm founded in 1857, providing benchmark price quotations, indices, forecasting, and data licensing across beef, pork, poultry, eggs, seafood, and plant protein to enterprise subscribers including processors, retailers, traders, and government agencies. Now operating under the Expana brand post-2023 merger with Mintec.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commodity Market Intelligence

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

akta.pro primary industry

Commodity Market Data, Pricing & Benchmark Administrators (Commodity Indices/Assessments) (FSAFAMAJ)

Keywords

• Protein market intelligence
• Commodity price reporting
• Market data analytics
• Food industry news
• Trade data services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toms River

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. COMTELL Subscription: Subscription-based access to the COMTELL platform providing market prices, news, analysis, and proprietary indices. Subscribers gain access to benchmark quotations, expert commentary, and customizable analytics across protein markets.
2. Data Licensing: License proprietary price and statistical data to clients via API, sFTP, and Excel Add-In. Offers streamlined approach to data transfer with access to 12,000+ active datasets.
3. Foreign Trade Data: Subscription or access fees for comprehensive import and export data for seafood and red meat markets with analytical dashboards.
4. Obsono Forecasting: Forecasting service subscription offering 6-month outlooks, quarterly webinars, and price pattern analysis for red meat and poultry.
5. Seafoodnews.com: Subscription to Seafood News daily news publication with exclusive breaking news, global correspondent network, and trending topics.
6. FoodMarket.com: News subscription providing global news coverage, weekly/monthly Insider's Reports, and quarterly newsazine for food industry professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Urner Barry is a protein market intelligence company providing benchmark price quotations, proprietary indices, news, analysis, and forecasting for red meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and plant protein markets. Its core offering is the COMTELL platform, complemented by data licensing, foreign trade data, forecasting (Obsono), and dedicated news services (SeafoodNews.com, FoodMarket.com) sold primarily via subscriptions to enterprise clients.

Product overview

Urner Barry is a protein market intelligence company offering a platform-plus-modules portfolio anchored by the COMTELL platform. COMTELL provides benchmark quotations, expert analyst commentary, and customizable charting for red meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and plant protein markets. The portfolio extends through specialized modules including Data Licensing (delivering 12,000+ datasets via API, sFTP, and Excel Add-In), Foreign Trade Data (U.S. import/export data for seafood and red meat), Obsono (6-month forecasting for red meat and poultry), SeafoodNews.com (daily seafood industry news), FoodMarket.com (food industry news with Insider's Reports), and the Market Briefing report. The January 2023 combination with Mintec expanded the platform to unify Mintec, Urner Barry, and FeedInfo data into COMTELL Plus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COMTELL: Market prices, news, and analysis platform providing benchmark quotations, indices, data points, and expert commentary across protein markets
• Obsono
• Seafoodnews.com
• FoodMarket.com
• UB Reporter

Products and services

• COMTELL Primary market intelligence platform providing benchmark quotations, proprietary indices, expert analyst commentary, and customizable charting for red meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and plant protein markets; sold via enterprise subscription.
• Data Licensing Licensing service providing direct access to 12,000+ active datasets via API, sFTP, and Excel Add-In for automated data transfer into client systems.
• Foreign Trade Data Searchable database of U.S. seafood and red meat import and export records with analytical dashboards, multi-dimensional views, and expert commentary.
• Obsono Forecasting and planning service for red meat and poultry offering 6-month outlooks, quarterly webinars, and price pattern charting.
• SeafoodNews.com Daily seafood news publication with exclusive breaking news from a global correspondent network, market analyst insights, and trending topics.
• FoodMarket.com Global food industry news platform offering weekly and monthly Insider's Reports with in-depth market insight and a quarterly newsmagazine featuring expert market analyst commentary.
• Market Briefing Weekly report in which Urner Barry reporters outline the latest action in commodity protein markets, highlighting seasonal factors, market disruptors, and current supply and demand fundamentals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Comprehensive market coverage across all major protein categories
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mintec (now part of AgriBriefing)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2023Mintec and Urner Barry combined to create a market leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA) and Data Provider in January 2023. Urner Barry is now part of the Mintec family of brands, with the combined entity operating under the Expana brand.
• Cattle-Fax / Obsono LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000In 2000, Urner Barry partnered with Cattle-Fax in a Global Connection initiative, forming Obsono LLC to produce the bi-weekly publication Market Insight offering analysis and forecasts for the poultry and red meat industries.
• Seafood.comcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999In 1999, Urner Barry partnered with Seafood.com and Seafood.com News to deliver accurate, daily, and pertinent seafood news to the industry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Expana: Parent brand formed by the 2023 combination of Mintec and Urner Barry, providing the same protein and food commodity price reporting, market intelligence, and benchmark administration across a broader commodities universe.
• Mintec: Sister brand within Expana providing food commodity price reporting and analytics, particularly in grains, oilseeds, and soft commodities, with directly overlapping PRA methodology, indices, and enterprise client base.
• Argus Media: Independent commodity price reporting agency covering energy, fertilizers, and agricultural products with IOSCO-aligned methodologies; competes head-to-head with Urner Barry/Expana in commodity benchmarks and data licensing.
• Fastmarkets: Price reporting agency for forest products, metals, and agricultural commodities with proprietary benchmark assessments and subscription data feeds; comparable PRA business model serving industrial commodity markets.
• Cattle-Fax: Cattle market analysis, price data, and forecasting provider; long-standing Urner Barry JV partner through Obsono LLC, offering directly comparable supply and demand intelligence for beef producers and packers.
• DTN (Progressive Farmer / DTN Ag): Agricultural market data, weather, and news provider serving farmers, traders, and agribusiness with commodity price feeds and analytics; competes for similar protein and grain market intelligence subscribers.

Broad incumbents

• S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts): Division of S&P Global offering benchmark price assessments, news, and analytics across energy, petrochemicals, metals, and agriculture, including agricultural commodity coverage that overlaps with Urner Barry's protein franchise.
• Bloomberg: Global financial data and analytics platform providing real-time commodity prices, news, and analytics for protein markets among many other asset classes; competes for the same enterprise trading and procurement seats.
• LSEG (Refinitiv): Global financial market infrastructure and data provider (formerly Refinitiv) offering commodity pricing, trading analytics, and news across agricultural and food commodities; competes for enterprise terminal subscriptions.
• Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research: Global food and agribusiness bank producing influential commodity research, forecasts, and pricing analysis covering animal protein and seafood value chains; serves overlapping CPG and producer customers with a research-led model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/urnerbarry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/urnerbarrytv
• Facebookfacebook.com/urnerbarrymarkets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/332275

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urner Barry