Certified Angus Beef (CAB) recently closed its 2025 fiscal year with its third-highest sales total in company history, bolstered in part by strong performance from Associated Food Stores, one of the brand’s leading retail distributors.
CAB reported sales of 1.235 billion pounds of product across the United States and 55 additional countries, a milestone the organization credited to continued consumer demand for high-quality beef. Despite shifting marketing conditions and margin pressures across the industry, the brand said interest in premium beef remained strong, matched by ongoing support from cattle producers committed to raising high-grade Angus cattle.
At CAB’s 2025 Annual Conference, AFS was recognized as the No. 3 retail distributor worldwide out of 115 licensed distributors. This was the third time AFS has earned a top position. AFS first became a licensed CAB Retail Distributor in 2008. At that time, many of its member retailers carried USDA Select beef, a lower grade commonly sold in grocery stores. Since then, AFS has grown CAB from zero pounds to an estimated 75 percent of beef sales today, excluding retailers that carry other brands.
The shift to CAB has provided a competitive advantage, AFS leaders said, both in stores and at the warehouse. CAB is the first and leading branded beef program in the world, and AFS remains the only licensed retail distributor in its primary markets.
The program’s growth reflects a long-term focus on quality across AFS’s meat departments. Shoppers see the difference through premium beef offerings and in-store merchandising, while many competing retailers continue to carry lower-grade products.
“Our retailers and team members take pride in selling Certified Angus Beef,” said Clint Hoyt, senior category manager over meat. “It is the number one branded beef program in the world, and ranking third worldwide proves how much our shoppers value quality. We are proud to stand behind a program that gives our retailers a real edge in the marketplace.”
AFS credited teams across the company for the recognition, including Meat Sales Specialists, buyers, the category manager, marketing, advertising, and CAB’s support staff. Their combined efforts helped drive one of CAB’s strongest years to date and reinforced the cooperative’s commitment to offering high-quality beef to shoppers throughout its service area.