Meat+Poultry - February 2024 - 36

NEW PRODUCTS
in your backpack, in your pocket - wherever
you might be able to carry it along with you, "
Dudley said.
The new product innovation hits close to
home for Dudley, as he grew up eating pickled
sausage like candy.
" We got raving
reviews from
the parents.
The kids just
ate them. "
- JEFF TRIPICIAN
" As a kid I loved pickled sausage, " he said.
" My grandparents wouldn't let us have candy,
but they would let us have pickled sausage
when we went to the convenience store.
Some 30 years later we developed our pickled
sausage as a better-for-you option to the other
products on the market - something we
could feel good about sending to school with
our kids as a great source of protein in their
lunch boxes. "
Pederson's Mild Pickled Sausage uses pork
sourced from the company's own farms in
the upper Midwest and beef from like-minded
producers of third-party verified humanely
raised programs, such as Global Animal
Partnership (GAP) and Certified Humane.
Pederson's attributes several health benefits
to its pickled sausage, including no sugar
added, no red 40, no antibiotics ever and no
added growth hormones.
" Pickled sausage is a great source of
protein because it repairs and rebuilds tissues
in my body, " Dudley said. " It's good for bone
growth and muscle growth. I just don't know
how our bodies would get along without high
quality protein. "
BISON BENEFITS
Teton Waters Ranch looks
to improve health benefits
of conventional meat
products by incorporating
grass-fed beef.
When considering expanding into the bison
hot dog category, Teton Waters Ranch, a Grass
Fed Foods brand based in Loveland Colo., first
evaluated the market.
Jeff Tripician, chief executive officer of
Grass Fed Foods, noted that the category was
strikingly small due to two main reasons: For
one, price was high. And two, feedback from
consumers indicated that many found the
intensity of the bison flavor off-putting.
Teton Waters Ranch addressed both issues
with the launch of its Uncured Bison Dogs and
Bison Bratwurst, which rolled out a couple
months ago. The items are currently available
in smaller retail stores, with larger retailers
anticipating introducing the line just in time for
grilling season this March or April.
The new bison line features 51% bison and
49% grass-fed-beef.
" We did the taste you're normally used to -
beef - with the bison, " Tripician said. " It's still
a bison, but it's also made with grass-fed-beef. "
The unique blend not only mellowed out
the gamey flavor from the bison but also
considerably brought down the price, giving
consumers a more palatable, affordable option.
" Blending the bison was very easy because
it behaved so similar to beef, " Tripician said,
describing the R&D process of the bison dogs
in comparison to Teton Taste Buds, which
blends beef and vegetables.
Targeted toward kids, the Taste Buds line
launched last year, beginning with three frozen
items - mini corn dogs, burgers and meatballs
- and refrigerated hot dogs. The hot dogs,
sold as Top Dogs, combine 85% grass-fed-beef
with veggies, such as mushrooms, carrots and
butternut squash.
Tripician noted the development of the Top
Dogs invoked more trial and error than the
bison sausages due to the differing moisture
contents of the blended ingredients. However,
with a little R&D, Teton Waters Ranch settled
on a recipe that was received with praise.
Teton tested the product at the Healthy
Kids Expo in September 2023, which was
attended by 900 kids and their parents.
" We got raving reviews from the parents, "
Tripician said. " The kids just ate them. That
was kind of the goal there. "
According to Teton Waters Ranch, Top Dogs
bring the flavor kids crave with the nutrition
they need, offering 27% less sodium and 38%
less total fat than a leading competitor's
uncured hot dog.
The Teton Taste Buds Top Dogs have been
honored as a finalist in the NEXTY Awards,
which recognize the most progressive,
impactful and trustworthy products in the
natural products industry.
36 MEAT+POULTRY | 02.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
Teton Waters Ranch
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - February 2024

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