Coast Packing's 9th #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest Puts Natural Fats Back in the Fryer

Beef tallow is having a moment—and one of its oldest champions is throwing a party to prove it. On National Beef Tallow Day, Coast Packing Company, a leading U.S. supplier of beef tallow, kicked off its 9th Annual #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest, a social-media celebration of crispy, golden fries cooked the traditional way.

The pitch is simple: post one great photo of fries cooked in beef tallow—homemade or from a favorite restaurant—for a shot at a lineup of "Fry-Day" prizes. But the timing tells a bigger story about where the foodservice industry is heading.

How the #BeefTallowFrenchFries Contest Works

The contest runs Monday, July 13 through Friday, July 31, 2026, and is open to home cooks and restaurant fans alike. Entering takes three steps:

• 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.

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 13 and older.

This Year's Fry-Day Prizes

Coast has stacked the prize table with three themed packages:

• 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 bundle 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.

A Natural-Fats Renaissance

National Beef Tallow Day was established in 2018 by the Healthy Fats Coalition to spotlight traditional natural animal fats. Prized for the rich flavor and golden, satisfying crunch it gives fries, beef tallow has long been a favorite frying fat—and, after decades in the shadow of seed oils, it's finding new fans.

"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 operators, the tallow revival is more than a nostalgia play—it's a menu positioning opportunity. Consumer interest in "clean label," minimally processed cooking fats is rising, and beef tallow fries deliver a differentiated flavor story that seed-oil fries can't match. That's a real hook for a spec sheet, a menu callout, or a limited-time offer.

A few practical takeaways for restaurant owners, foodservice executives, and procurement directors:

• Free marketing reach. A user-generated-content contest like this rewards restaurants whose fries get photographed and tagged. If your kitchen fries in tallow, encourage guests to enter—it puts your fries in front of a passionate fry audience.
• Discovery via TasteMap. Coast's TasteMap™ directory of tallow-and-lard restaurants is a low-cost way for operators to get found by exactly the diners hunting for this flavor profile.
• Menu storytelling. "Cooked the natural way" and "fried in beef tallow" are the kind of authenticity cues that justify a premium and drive social shares.

Founded in 1922, Coast Packing Company is the leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western United States, with a focus on quality, sustainability, and blending traditional values with a modern approach. The contest is a smart reminder that a legacy ingredient, marketed well, can feel brand-new.

Get In on the Crunch

Entries are accepted July 13 through July 31, 2026. For full details or to enter, visit coastpacking.com/beeftallowfrenchfriescontest. For more on how operators are rethinking ingredient sourcing and beverage economics, read our take on the new economics of craft and how bold, natural flavors are earning menu space.

Is beef tallow back on your menu—or should it be? Drop a comment and tell us how you're frying.

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.