Coast Packing's 9th Annual #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest Is On

Beef tallow is having a moment—and Coast Packing Company is turning that momentum into an annual celebration. On July 13, 2026 (National Beef Tallow Day), the Vernon, California-based supplier kicked off its 9th Annual #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest, a social-first campaign that runs through Friday, July 31, and rewards nothing more complicated than one great photo of crispy, golden fries fried the natural way.

For a category that spent decades in the wilderness, the traction is notable. Beef tallow—long prized for the rich flavor and satisfying crunch it gives fries—is back on menus, in home kitchens, and squarely in the cultural conversation around traditional animal fats and better-for-you cooking.

How the #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest Works

The entry mechanics are refreshingly simple, which is exactly why this kind of campaign travels. Home cooks and restaurant fans alike are eligible—all it takes is a photo:

• Follow @CoastPackingCo on Instagram or X.
• Post a photo of fries cooked in Beef Tallow—homemade or from a favorite restaurant.
• Include the hashtag #BeefTallowFrenchFries and tag @CoastPackingCo in the post.

Entries are accepted from July 13 through July 31, 2026. Winners will be announced on or around Wednesday, August 12, on Coast's website and social channels. No purchase is necessary, and the contest is open to legal U.S. residents ages 13 and older.

This Year's Prizes Are Worth the Crunch

Coast leaned into the fun with three prize tiers that blend dining, gear, and a wink of fry-inspired lifestyle merch:

• 1st Prize – The TasteMap Tallow Fry Tour (MSRP: $500). Named for Coast's TasteMap™, a growing directory of restaurants that cook with Beef Tallow and Lard, this prize includes gift cards to restaurants serving Beef Tallow fries, a Coast-branded tote bag, a Beef Tallow French Fries sticker pack, a printed "TasteMap Fry Tour" passport, and a Saucemoto Dip Clip.
• 2nd Prize – Fry-Day Starter Kit (MSRP: $433). A De'Longhi Livenza Deep Fryer with EasyClean System, a Weston French Fry Cutter, Flavor King Blue Beef Tallow, and the cookbook Fries: 70 Crave-Worthy Recipes from Crispy Classic to Loaded Cheese.
• 3rd Prize – Fry-Day Glam Pack (MSRP: $372). A Stoney Clover Lane bag with a Fernando Frites bag charm, a Kate Spade "Happy Fry-Day" pendant, FATCO Calming Body Butta made with organic tallow, an NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "French Fries," and a three-pack of Heinz condiment-flavored lip balms.

The contest is one of several ways Coast is marking National Beef Tallow Day and National French Fry Day this July, alongside its 13 Days of Tallow series and a collection of Beef Tallow recipes and cooking tips. National Beef Tallow Day was established in 2018 by the Healthy Fats Coalition to spotlight traditional natural animal fats.

"This contest is one of our favorite ways to celebrate the flavor and versatility of Beef Tallow," said Greg Hozinsky, Corporate Chef at Coast Packing. "Every year, we see even more creative entries as Beef Tallow continues to grow in popularity. We can't wait to see this year's fries and how chefs and home cooks are bringing Beef Tallow back into everyday cooking."

Why It Matters

For foodservice operators, this is more than a photo contest—it's a signal. Beef tallow has moved from niche to mainstream, and consumer enthusiasm for natural animal fats is now strong enough to sustain a nine-year campaign and an entire lifestyle merch category around fries. That demand is a menu opportunity.

A few practical takeaways for restaurant owners, chefs, and procurement teams:

• Menu positioning: "Fried in beef tallow" is a differentiator worth calling out on the menu. It communicates flavor, tradition, and a made-the-natural-way story that resonates with clean-label-minded guests.
• Discovery via TasteMap: Coast's TasteMap™ directory of restaurants cooking with Beef Tallow and Lard is essentially free, targeted visibility—operators already using tallow should make sure they're listed and being found by fry-seeking diners.
• Low-cost, high-reach marketing: A user-generated content campaign built on one hashtag is a lesson operators can borrow. Encouraging guests to post their own dishes turns customers into a marketing channel.

The broader trend line—rising interest in traditional fats, provenance, and craft frying—fits neatly alongside the return-to-real-ingredients movement reshaping menus across the industry.

The Bottom Line

Coast Packing, founded in 1922 and a leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western United States, has built a durable engagement engine around a single humble product. For operators, the message is clear: the fry is having a renaissance, and the ingredient story behind it can drive both flavor and traffic.

Entering is easy, and it's a smart, no-cost way to spotlight your program. Snap your best golden batch, tag @CoastPackingCo with #BeefTallowFrenchFries before July 31, and visit coastpacking.com/beeftallowfrenchfriescontest to enter.

Are you cooking with beef tallow on your menu—or thinking about making the switch? Explore more on how operators are rethinking their programs in The New Economics of Craft and how legacy ingredients are earning menu space in Bold Flavor, Local Roots. Then tell us in the comments: is beef tallow back for good?

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for founding American Wholesale Floral. Politz is also the founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.