🥩 Meat N’ Bone vs. Omaha Steaks: Honoring the Legacy, Raising the Steaks

[Updated July 2025] This post has been edited to clarify terminology around USDA certification programs. Our goal is transparency and factual accuracy — not confusion. We believe the meat industry benefits when customers are informed.

Before we get into comparisons, let’s start with something important:

We have deep respect for what Omaha Steaks has built.  But today, a bit less. They saw this blog post and instead of challenging us to a steak off, they sent their lawyers to discuss their logo.  I guess  when You Rattle the Cooler… Even the Giants Start to Shake. 

When you’re a small team trying to raise the bar in the meat world — you expect a few bumps. But we didn’t expect a certified lawyergram from one of the oldest names in steak. Apparently, we hit a nerve. We said something spicy about labeling and tenderness — and next thing you know, we’re in USDA-Prime legal territory.

This letter was sent to us by legal counsel for Omaha Steaks. We believe transparency matters and are sharing this for informational purposes in response to their claims.:

So.. about Omaha...
They’ve been in the game for over a century. They introduced the idea of mail-order steaks to the American consumer. They scaled a family business and brought premium beef into homes across the country long before “direct-to-consumer” was a trend.

At Meat N’ Bone, we’ve learned a lot from Omaha’s model. From logistics to packaging to nationwide reach — their pioneering approach helped lay the foundation for premium meat delivery in the U.S. They opened the door. We’re walking through it — with a different vision.

Because while we respect the past, we’re building something for a different kind of customer — someone who craves not just quality, but connection, traceability, and an experience.

WHAT WE ARE DOING DIFFERENTLY

Omaha Steaks is a legacy brand that focuses heavily on frozen foods and ready-to-eat meals. That’s their niche — and they do it well. You’ll find a wide selection of bundled products, from chicken cordon bleu to meatloaf, pre-cooked sides, and desserts. Their model is optimized for convenience, scale, and gifting.

Meat N’ Bone is not in that business.

We’re here for the home chefs, the purists, the curious, the passionate. Our focus is on raw, hand-cut, meticulously sourced proteins — meats you can cook, grill, smoke, and elevate with your own craft. We don’t do a lot of pre-cooked. We don’t hide behind marinades or sauces. We let the quality of the product speak for itself.

BOUTIQUES: MORE THAN A STOREFRONT 

Here’s another key difference — walk into one of Omaha’s retail locations (they have over 48 of them), and you’ll find a freezer-lined store with pre-boxed frozen meals. Grab a box, swipe your card, you’re out. They try customer service, but its really hard when every product looks the same. 

Step into one of our Meat N’ Bone boutiques, and the experience is entirely different.

It’s not just a shop — it’s a boutique.  Our staff are meat concierges. We’ll tell you where the cut came from, how it was raised, what the marbling score is, how to reverse-sear it, and what wine to pair it with.

You won’t find that at a frozen box outlet. And that’s by design.

TRANSPARENCY IN EVERY BITE

One of the most important things in this industry — especially when you’re dealing with premium beef — is transparency. You deserve to know where your steak came from, how it was raised, and how it was graded.

At Meat N’ Bone, we’re proud to share that:

• Our USDA Choice and Prime cuts are G1 Certified — meaning they’re at the top of their class, sourced from smaller cattle, corn-fed, and aged 30+ days.

• We offer one of the most diverse Japanese A5 Wagyu offering, which is 100% authentic and sourced from the top farms, with verifiable BMS scores.

• Our pork, lamb, game and seafood all come from best-in-class, traceable programs — no commodity suppliers, no factory-farmed shortcuts.

Compare that to Omaha Steaks:

Omaha Steaks uses the USDA’s Tenderness Marketing Claim Standard (e.g. USDA Certified Tender), which is based on shear force testing — not a grade like Prime or Choice. It’s a legitimate program, but one that some customers may not be familiar with.”

(Learn more about Beef Grading here)

Let that sink in.

They use certifications that reflect tenderness but not grading — which some customers may confuse with USDA grades like Prime or Choice. USDA Tender is not a grade. There is no guarantee of marbling, aging, or consistency — and no way to trace the meat’s origin. 

We don’t believe in marketing tricks or vague certifications. We believe in honesty. And we put the real USDA grade right on the label — because you have a right to know.

FROZEN DONE RIGHT

We don’t believe frozen is bad — if it’s frozen correctly. Many of our products are flash-frozen immediately after vacuum-sealing to preserve peak freshness. Others (like bone-in or dry-aged cuts) ship fresh. And if you're in South Florida, we can have it at your door within 2 hours.

Omaha Steaks relies on a fully frozen inventory model. It’s efficient, but it can sacrifice flavor, structure, and juiciness. Not to mention — you often don’t know how long it’s been in cold storage.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY

At Meat N’ Bone, we’re not a frozen meat brand. We’re a culinary ecosystem. Our team includes expert butchers, chefs, hospitality veterans, and meat lovers who obsess over the details.

• We host events.

• We offer Grill Master services.

• We partner with restaurants, breweries, and chefs.

• We educate our customers.

• We treat every order like it’s being prepared for our own family dinner.

We have an industry-best NPS, a concierge-style customer service system, a loyalty program that rewards real engagement, and a tech stack designed for long-term relationships — not one-off sales.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

We honor the path Omaha Steaks paved — they made meat delivery possible for the American home cook. We tip our hats to their legacy.

But we’re not here to replicate it. We’re here to evolve it.

Meat N’ Bone is the next generation of meat purveyors — blending traditional butchery with modern logistics, thoughtful sourcing, culinary integrity, and unmatched customer service.

If you want a gift box, a pre-cooked roast, or a frozen burger in bulk — Omaha is your brand.

But if you want to fall in love with meat again, to know your butcher, to explore flavors, textures, origins — then welcome home.

We’re Meat N’ Bone. And we’re raising the steaks.

Omaha Steaks is a registered trademark of Omaha Steaks International, LLC. All references are for comparative purposes only.