Coast Packing Company, a leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western United States, officially turned 100 on February 18, coinciding with the birthday of Ronald R. Gustafson, the late family patriarch and Coast’s 3rd generation leader.

The company was founded in 1922 as a livestock and meat‐packing business and expanded over the years into a regional food industry leader.

“We’ve been a leader in the Southwest for a century, growing and evolving in a way that now seems almost quaint,” says Eric R. Gustafson, chief executive officer and fourth generation member of the founding family. “My great-grandfather established the principles under which we still operate – deliver the highest quality shortenings and oils, backed by both superior service and unsurpassed value, all of which translates to customer relationships that span generations.”

In 1962 Coast transitioned to the processing of animal and animal‐vegetable shortening products. The company now supplies lard, beef tallow, animal-vegetable shortening blends and vegetable oil and shortening products to the California market and well beyond. Coast sells to major manufacturers, CPG companies, QSR and fast-food restaurant chains, distributors, retailers, smaller food service operations, leading bakeries and more.

“We are truly grateful to our employees, customers, and suppliers for their support throughout the years,” Gustafson says. “More and more consumers are seeking out food that is made with integrity and fidelity to culinary traditions. At Coast, that reverence defines us. After one hundred remarkable years, past truly is prologue.”