Where, Exactly, Does Costco Source Its Lamb From?

Walk past the Costco meat department on any given weekend, and you're likely to see the usual suspects stacked high in vacuum-sealed plastic: Trays of chicken thighs, bricks of ground beef, and enough pork tenderloin to feed a football team. Lamb? Unless you know what you're looking for, it's not usually top of mind. That's part of what makes it Costco's most quietly premium protein. While the chain is already known as one of the grocery stores with the best meat department, its lamb selection feels like a hidden aisle of its own — and some of the best cuts come from farther away than you'd think.

This isn't just domestic commodity meat shuffled in from the usual suppliers. A closer look reveals cryo-packed racks, chops, and legs with origins in places like Australia and New Zealand — regions known for producing some of the world's most sought-after lamb. In-store, you'll find brands like Swift and Rastelli's tucked among the steaks and roasts; online, Costco offers full curated boxes that border on luxury. Australian lamb racks are a meat you shouldn't pass on at the Costco butcher counter — especially once you know just how far they traveled to land in that cold case.

Costco doesn't just dabble in lamb — it sources it from regions that take their livestock as seriously as some countries take wine. Take Swift, for example. This meatpacking heavyweight, with roots stretching back to the 1800s, supplies lamb raised on open Australian pastures under carefully regulated welfare standards. The result is clean, consistent flavor with a tender profile — the kind of quality you don't expect to find packed ten to a tray.

Then there's Rastelli's, a name that reads more like a high-end butcher shop than a bulk retail brand. Its lamb is all pasture-raised in Australia and grass-fed from start to finish, with no feedlot shortcuts. The racks arrive trimmed and polished, more dinner party than discount bin. That ethos carries over to Costco's online lamb lineup, too — including boxes from New Zealand Spring Lamb, a co-op-backed brand that lets you trace each cut back to the farm. Even Reddit has clocked in on the range, with some shoppers spotting full halal lambs from New Zealand tucked into freezer bins — not something you'd expect to find between the frozen pizzas and party wings.

It all adds up to one of the most internationally sourced meat selections of any grocery chain — and one of the most slept-on. Lamb might not get the buzz of brisket or the fanfare of filet, but it's quietly become one of the most gourmet foods you can buy at Costco.