Carzan Meats — Our Story

Where It All Began.

Carzan didn't start as a jerky company. It started with two ranch kids from Saskatchewan and a simple idea: put a face to the food people eat.

Shop the Jerky
Carzan Local Market booth

It started during COVID, when supply chains were shaky, grocery shelves were empty, and a lot of people started asking the same questions: where does my food actually come from? And who's behind it?

That's when Carzan Local Market was born. The idea was simple — shorten the food chain, support local producers, and put a face to the food people were eating. Not just labels and claims, but real people you could point to and trust. That idea stuck, and it's still at the heart of everything we do today.

Check out the video of where it all began

Carzan was built on the Canadian Prairies, where ranching isn't just a job — it's a way of life.

Carter grew up in rural Saskatchewan, immersed in agriculture from an early age: long days on the ranch, 4-H competitions, and a deep respect for the land. From high school on, he had one clear vision — build something that showcased high-quality Saskatchewan products, raised and made the right way.

Those roots still guide everything we do today.

Carmen opening a gate on the ranch

Carmen grew up on a farm too — a mixed cattle and grain operation in southwest Saskatchewan. Farming wasn't a story she learned later; it was something she lived.

Those years built an appreciation for how food is raised, how much work goes into it, and how disconnected people can become from that process once it leaves the farm gate.

Between the two of them, agriculture wasn't a brand choice. It was just home.

Carmen's own health problems pushed her to pay closer attention to ingredients — not out of trend, but necessity. What was in her food. What didn't need to be. Why so many everyday products felt overly complicated for no good reason.

When Carter and Carmen started talking seriously about building something together, one thing kept coming up: people want to trust their food, but they're tired of guessing.

That idea — trust through transparency — became the backbone of Carzan.

Carzan Local Market came first. Jerky came later. Jerky came later.

As we worked with customers face-to-face, the same conversations kept happening. People wanted food they could recognize — not just for dinner, but for real life: snacks for workdays, kids' lunches, sports bags, long road trips.

When we looked at the snack aisle, especially meat snacks, the gap was obvious — too much sugar, too many preservatives, too many shortcuts.

So we started experimenting: grass-fed beef, simple recipes, honey instead of refined sugar, nothing added just to stretch shelf life. People responded immediately — not because it was flashy, but because it made sense.

The whole family helping sell jerky at the farmer market

Like a lot of small businesses, Carzan found its footing during uncertain times. Demand grew quickly, and with it came pressure to move faster, scale harder, and say yes to everything.

But the lessons from Carzan Local Market stayed front and center — if you lose the connection to your food, and the people behind it, you lose the whole point.

So we chose to grow carefully. Sometimes slower than we wanted to. Sometimes the hard way. But always with ingredient integrity and transparency intact.

Putting a face to the food isn't a slogan — it's a responsibility. It means standing behind what we make. It means knowing our suppliers. It means answering questions honestly, even when the answer isn't always perfect or convenient.

We make jerky for real people with real lives — families, athletes, busy parents, people who want something dependable in their bag without overthinking it. Just like us.

If an ingredient doesn't need to be there, it isn't. Simple as that.

From the beginning, Carzan was meant to do more than sell snacks.

Through our Snack & Give Back initiative, 2% of proceeds go toward helping feed Canadians in need — a direct extension of what started with Carzan Local Market: food should support communities, not just commerce.

Through 2024 and 2025, we've donated tens of thousands of dollars to charities across this country, and right here in Saskatchewan.

Carzan Isn't a Big Team Behind a Brand.

It's just us — Carter and Carmen. (And sometimes the kiddos.) Thanks for being part of the Carzan story. We're glad you're here, and we're proud to snack better together.

Shop the Jerky

Shop The Best Sellers

View all