The Honest Bison

What The Honest Bison does

The Honest Bison is a private, direct-to-consumer e-commerce company founded around 2012-2013 and headquartered operationally in Camas, Washington (registered in El Segundo, California) that sells premium, 100% grass-fed and regeneratively raised meats — centered on bison, with elk (North American and New Zealand), beef, venison, lamb, and chicken as complementary lines — shipped frozen via insulated containers with dry ice to customers across the continental United States. The company sources exclusively from a network of five named family-owned Grazing Partners (McGinely Ranch SD, THB Grasslands WI, Richards Regenerative CA, Umpqua Valley Lamb OR, Lubinski Elk Acres MN) and holds a stack of third-party certifications including Certified B Corp (achieved 2024), Land to Market, American Grassfed Association, Global Animal Partnership, Audubon Society Bird-Friendly Pastures, and Whole30 Approved, which collectively serve as the primary proof-of-provenance mechanism.

The business model is a single-channel DTC storefront (thehonestbison.com) with revenue from one-time individual cut purchases (priced $15 for ground bison to $76 for tomahawk steak, with subscription and Chef's Box bundles layered on top) plus a subscription tier for recurring delivery. Shipping is tiered by order value — $29 ground under $99, $19 ground at $100-$299, free ground over $300 — which simultaneously functions as an AOV-raising lever. Distribution is exclusively online; there is no retail, wholesale, marketplace, or international presence, and Alaska/Hawaii shipping has been discontinued due to logistics cost.

Operationally the company is small (1-10 employees), founder-led (Sean, whose direct email is published on the B-Corp page), and bootstrapped beyond $15,000 of cumulative community lending via Kiva Zip in 2015 and 2016 — no institutional equity has been raised. Customer ratings are strong (Ground Bison 4.91/5 across 54.9 reviews), the marketing approach is content-led (recipe library, blog, organic social across Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, plus email and SMS), and the technology stack is conventional e-commerce with no disclosed AI, app, or API surface.

Name

The Honest Bison

Legal name

The Honest Bison

Website

https://thehonestbison.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Honest Bison is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce company that sells 100% grass-fed and regeneratively raised bison, elk, beef, venison, lamb, and chicken, sourced from five family-owned US ranches and shipped frozen nationwide to health- and sustainability-conscious consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Online Meat Retail

NAICS

Cattle Ranching and Farming (1121)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Bison Ranching (AFAEAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Deer & Elk Farming (Venison) (AFAEAIAD)

Keywords

• Grass-fed bison meat
• Regeneratively raised meats
• Direct-to-consumer meat
• Online frozen meat delivery
• Specialty game meat

Headquarters

HQ city

El Segundo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Meat Sales: E-commerce sales of premium grass-fed and regeneratively raised meats including bison, elk, beef, venison, lamb, and chicken. Products are sold as individual cuts, ground meats, and specialty items. Customers can purchase one-time or subscribe for recurring deliveries.
2. Subscription Services: Recurring subscription model where customers receive regular shipments of their preferred meats, providing predictable revenue and customer retention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Honest Bison sources 100% grass-fed and regeneratively raised meats (bison, elk, beef, venison, lamb, and chicken) from a small network of named U.S. family-owned ranches and sells them directly to consumers through its own e-commerce site, thehonestbison.com. Products are shipped frozen to customers' doors using insulated containers with dry ice, and the company offers both one-time purchases and recurring meat subscriptions, plus curated Chef's Boxes and gift cards.

Product overview

The Honest Bison is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform specializing in premium, ethically sourced, regeneratively ranched meats. The company offers a diverse portfolio of products centered around bison as their hero product, supplemented by elk (North American and New Zealand), beef, venison, lamb, and chicken. Products are sold through multiple channels including individual cuts (steaks, ground meats, roasts, ribs, organ meats), subscriptions, chef's boxes, and gift cards. The company also offers complementary cooking essentials including the MEATER PLUS wireless thermometer and Bison Tallow. All products emphasize 100% grass-fed/naturally grazed sourcing, regeneratively raised practices, third-party certifications (Land to Market, American Grassfed Association, Global Animal Partnership, Certified B Corp, Audubon Society), and transparency about sourcing from family-owned ranches across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bison 100% grass-fed and regeneratively raised bison meat from McGinely Ranch, South Dakota and THB Grasslands, Wisconsin, sold as steaks, ground, roasts, ribs, burgers, and organ meats for individual consumers.
• Elk (North American) Farm-raised Rocky Mountain elk from Minnesota's Lubinski Elk Acres, naturally grazed on native grasses, shrubs, leaves, wild grains, bark, and berries, and never given grains, hormones, or antibiotics.
• Elk (New Zealand) Naturally grazed, farm-raised elk from New Zealand, marketed as offering the leanest and most tender elk cuts, including New Zealand Elk Filet Mignon.
• Beef 100% grass-fed beef from U.S. partner ranches, never fed grains and never in feedlots, raised in open pastures following natural grazing patterns.
• Venison Whitetail deer venison raised in Wisconsin, farm-raised and naturally grazed, free to forage naturally and never given grains, hormones, or antibiotics.
• Lamb 100% grass-fed lamb from Umpqua Valley Lamb in Oregon, never fed grains and never in feedlots.
• Chicken Organic, pasture-raised chicken from Texas, nourished on regenerative land with a non-GMO diet, plenty of sunshine, and fresh well water; antibiotic, hormone, and vaccine-free.
• Meat Subscriptions Subscription service that ships customers regular monthly deliveries of their preferred cuts from the bison, elk, beef, venison, lamb, and chicken assortment, providing recurring revenue and customer retention.
• Chef's Boxes Curated boxes of premium cuts designed for home chefs, packaging multiple proteins and cuts together as a single purchase unit.
• Gift Cards Purchasable gift cards redeemable on thehonestbison.com for any product in the assortment, marketed for gifting to meat-loving recipients.
• Cooking Essentials Cooking accessories and pantry items sold alongside meats, including 100% grass-fed Bison Tallow (7.5 oz jar), the MEATER PLUS wireless smart meat thermometer, and Jacobsen Salt Co. steak seasoning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Meats rated 4.5-4.9 stars by verified customers
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• McGinely RanchcoreOthersPrimary Grazing Partner located in South Dakota. One of the main sources for regeneratively raised bison. Animals are 100% grass-fed and regeneratively raised.
• THB GrasslandscoreOthersGrazing Partner located in Wisconsin. Supplies regeneratively raised animals as part of The Honest Bison's supply network.
• Richards RegenerativecoreOthersGrazing Partner located in California. Provides regeneratively raised livestock as part of The Honest Bison's partner ranch network.
• Umpqua Valley LambcoreOthersGrazing Partner located in Oregon. Supplies lamb products for The Honest Bison's lamb offerings.
• Lubinski Elk AcrescoreOthersGrazing Partner located in Minnesota. Supplies elk products including elk tenderloin and elk burgers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheHonestBison
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheHonestBison
• Instagraminstagram.com/thehonestbison
• Pinterestpinterest.com/thehonestbison

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Honest Bison