Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 44)

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT on the rise. We continue to look for better ingredients, safer ingredients and more exciting flavors." Evans Food Group Ltd., Chicago, concurred that pork rinds can be positioned as good for you. When compared to other salty snacks, pork rinds are "an amazingly healthy treat," the company's website said. "With half the fat and calories of potato chips, four times the protein and zero carbohydrates, pork rinds make for a surprisingly nutritious . . . snack food." Evans offers a co-branded (with TW Garner Food Co.) Texas Pete line of Hot & Spicy Pork Skins and Chipotle Pork Skins, and this shows how pork rind manufacturers are creating products geared at a broader audience. Although still a male-dominated category, the pork rinds market now skews more female than in the past. "Our core consumer is male," Mr. Singleton noted, "but females are a huge factor in their purchase and consumption as well. We do well in urban, southern and rural markets. We are also very successful in growing I Where's the Beef? t's the new industry catchphrase - the word alternative - and it even applies to meat snacks. Kevin Papacek, director of marketing for Minong, WI-based Link Snacks Inc., better known as Jack Link's Beef Jerky, explained the connection to his company's top-selling jerky. "A very new trend to meat snacks has been the evolution of alternative proteins," he said. "Before now, jerky was thought of only as beef. Now, we have begun bringing in new users to the category by making products with lean turkey and pork." In 2013, Jack Link's launched Original Turkey Jerky and BBQ Pork Jerky. Newer to the line-up is BROUGHT TO YOU BY HEAT & CONTROL, J.R. SHORT, PRINTPACK, RUDOLPH FOODS AND GE CAPITAL 44 Snack World May 2014 www.sfa.org our household penetration through our Pork Rind Appreciation Day celebration." This event, which raises money for the Gridiron Greats organization, has exposed more than 500 million potential consumers to pork rinds in the last year, "raising awareness for a great group of guys and our category," Mr. Singleton said. Social media has pumped up awareness of the category. The web, YouTube, Instagram, mobile web and social media overall are driving sales of the product, Mr. Singleton said. "We have more than 70 recipes for cooking with pork rinds on our website," he noted. "We have a web-based tasting community, Pork Rind Panelist, which we talk to about flavors and new products. It is the center of our marketing plan in 2014 and beyond. We want to build a strong social media presence and community to build brand loyalty." The foodies on Facebook certainly should be quite pleased. - Sue Malovany Sweet Teriyaki Turkey Jerky, capitalizing on both alternative proteins and globally inspired flavor trends. Also, Jack Links has two limited edition Wild Side flavors, Sriracha Beef Jerky and Burrito Beef Jerky, catering to consumers' tastes for more exotic and spicy ethnic flavors. These new products add to the company's line-up of turkey meat snacks offering a "betterfor-you" look and feel, Mr. Papacek said. The turkey meat snacks also include Jack Link's Oven Roasted Turkey Tender Bites, Turkey Snack Sticks, Turkey Snack Bites, Original Turkey Strips and Turkey Stick & Cheese Combos. "Innovative flavors and new proteins are bringing new consumers into the category," he noted. "We remain at the forefront of that growth by leading these trends." This consumer demand has prompted Jack Link's to begin making changes to its products in good ways. "A few of our products have no added MSG," he said. "This is something consumers look for when eating meat snacks. Also, when we launched http://www.sfa.org

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Snack World - May 2014