Our History

The History Behind the Name

One of our biggest questions about our business is why we chose the name Loup River Beef when our home base, Randolph, NE, is far from the Loup River. We selected a name with a lot of meaning and heart for our family. It all started in 2015 when Greg and Malinda Villwok, the owners of Loup River Beef, bought a ranch in Dunning, NE. This was their next step to fulfilling their dreams of growing their cow herd. It was a beautiful place in the Nebraska sandhills that followed the Loup River. It had lush meadows and rolling hills, and they grew their cow herd for seven years. It was one of their favorite places to escape to with their family. The tranquility of the place made for great family time, even though the fun trip was always a work trip. Once their daughter Addison Villwok graduated high school, she moved to the ranch and took over the cow herd. The cows would spend the winters at the farm in northeast Nebraska and then the remainder of the year with her at the ranch.

In the next few years, the Loup River Beef business was born. It was 2020; Addison was running the ranch from college at NCTA when COVID-19 hit. Her college sent them home to finish the year online. It was her one marketing class final that led to the birth of the brand. The assignment was to create an imaginary business and a product you can sell. At that exact point, COVID was taking a toll on the grocery stores. The aisles were empty, and many folks were going without beef. So, bringing her project to the next level, she started the plans for the business. The objectives and mission statement came quickly. She wanted everyone to have access to farm fresh beef, and the company was built on that. Greg and Malinda, at the time, were already selling beef to their neighbors and family members, so they agreed to see how far they could go with the idea. Now, they are four years down the road, selling all across the United States to individual customers, restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations, with plans to market internationally.

So, when people ask why they chose the name Loup River Beef to brand the beef business, it was a straightforward choice for them. The Loup River Ranch was a huge part of their lives and was the beginning of everything, so in honor of that, it was chosen as the business's name.