by Alena Bosse, Graduate Research Assistant, and Michael Boland, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, mboland@ksu.edu

Developed January 2006.
 

Competitors

Table 1 presents the primary competitors in the meat snacks industry. Competitors include Oberto Sausage Company (Kent, Washington); Link Industries (Minong, Wisconsin); Slim Jim and Pemmican (Omaha, Nebraska); and Bridgford (owned by Bridgford Food Corporation, Anaheim, California). A large number of regional companies also exist. Each generally has a strong brand. These firms also compete globally and are generally family owned with a long history in the meat snack industry. Oberto owns the Oh Boy! Oberto, Lowrey’s, Pacific Gold and Smokecraft brands. Founded as a family-owned company, it has grown rapidly in the past ten years with the acquisition of Curtice-Burns Meat Snack, Inc. In 2000, the company partnered with Frito-Lay who is their distributor to grocery, convenience and club stores. Link Industries owns the Jack Link’s Beef jerky brands. They are a privately-held family company. Slim Jim and Pemmican are owned by Con Agra Foods, which is a large packaged goods company. However, private label sales are increasing rapidly.

Market Size

Meat snack sales have grown 14 percent since 1997. However, a recent report indicates that only 25 percent of U.S. households purchase meat snacks. The meat snack category is comprised of jerky, meat sticks and other meat and cheese snacks. Jerky is the most common product with an estimated 44 percent of sales in 2002 compared to 33.5 percent for meat sticks and 22.5 percent for the other category. Various reasons have been offered for growth of meat snacks including the popularity of low-carb and fat-free diets, a more diverse flavor selection, innovative products and improved marketing. Beef is the main ingredient in most meat snacks. Beef-based meat snacks garner over 80 percent of the market. However, the use of turkey in meat snacks has increased rapidly because of its mild flavor, which is preferred by women and children.