Wagyu beef gains ground in Brazilian retail - Valor International

Beef from Japan’s Wagyu cattle, the world’s most expensive, has traditionally been restricted to wealthy consumers, fine-dining restaurants, and specialty butcher shops. But that is changing. Products bearing the Wagyu name are appearing at retailers across several Brazilian states, from Rio Grande do Sul-based Zaffari, which also has stores in São Paulo, to the Northeast’s Grupo Mateus. They are being sold not only as premium cuts, but also as meatballs, sausages, burgers, ribs, and even chuck.

Leading the push is Guidara, which owns a farm in Americana, São Paulo, and has the country’s largest Wagyu herd. After investing R$30 million in a deboning and processing plant that opened in 2020 and initially focusing on specialty butcher shops and restaurants, CEO Daniel Steinbruch and Technical Director Tatiana Caruso decided to expand the portfolio with more affordable products to better offset the high cost of raising the cattle.

The company began serving retailers two years ago and, in 2026, started producing meatballs while expanding its Wagyu sausage and burger lines. It has also embraced smaller portions of traditional cuts such as ribeye, strip steak, and picanha.

Products from the brand are now sold by 51 retail chains across Brazil. They include Zona Sul in Rio de Janeiro, San Marché, Pão de Açúcar, Super Adega in Brasília, Zaffari in Rio Grande do Sul, Líder in Pará and Mercadinho São Luís in Ceará. Six Sam’s Club warehouse stores will begin carrying the company’s products this month. The domestic market accounts for 90% of Guidara’s production, 60% of which goes to retailers.

“The domestic market was a welcome surprise. We did not know how much of the product it would absorb. We created fast-selling products for retailers, and they are opening this door for the company,” Caruso told Valor. “Wagyu used to be seen as a slow-moving product, but we offer everything from ribs priced at R$28.50 to ribeye at R$950 per kilo,” Steinbruch said, referring to the company’s selling prices to retail chains.

To produce tender beef with Wagyu’s celebrated marbling—the intramuscular fat that melts when heated and gives the meat its buttery flavor—the animals require special care even before birth. Cows receive protein supplements during the final third of pregnancy, while calves are fed a special diet formulated with essential oils and natural extracts. The males are also castrated before reaching adulthood to prevent testosterone from circulating and inhibiting marbling. In return, Wagyu cattle command 2.5 times the price per arroba—a 15-kilogram unit—of conventional cattle, which currently fetch about R$390.

One factor limiting the meat’s wider adoption is that Wagyu cattle are slaughtered at a heavier weight than other breeds, producing larger cuts. A 2.5-kilogram Wagyu picanha can cost R$2,500. “Before we had the plant, we could not portion the meat. Retail became viable once we could offer smaller, more affordable pieces,” Caruso said.

Another important source of revenue for Guidara is restaurant chains, or food service operators, that have added Wagyu—particularly burgers—to their menus. They purchase 40% of the company’s domestic sales. Customers include Cabana Burger, Pobre Juan, Quebrada Burger, and Z Deli, as well as fine-dining restaurants such as Michelin-starred Tuju.

Guidara also stepped up efforts this year to expand abroad. After making a modest export debut in late 2025 with shipments to the Maldives, Kuwait, and Argentina, it began exporting about one container, or 20 tonnes, a month to additional destinations, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Chile and Singapore. Shipments are expected to remain at that pace in 2027 because of the number of animals available for slaughter, but should double to 40 tonnes a month in 2028. Exports will account for more than 10% of sales this year, according to Steinbruch.

Guidara has 1,800 purebred animals on its farm. This year, it expects to send about 600 of them to slaughter, out of a total of 2,800 purebred and crossbred cattle raised by the company and partner ranchers. Beef production is expected to increase between 30% and 40% in 2026.