Oser Communications Group

1 2 SNACKING NEWS April 2019 Made By True Finds Success with New Retail Front BY GREG GONZALES Retailers know that the best way to prove a product is to let customers try it them- selves. The people behind Made By True, the craft jerky brand, decided to try that themselves this year. They opened a store- front in their Bay Area office space this year, where the lobby was, so passersby can get a chance to try the product right there. Last year, Made By True launched its biltong snack, and its getting a lot of love. The idea behind the storefront, ex- plained Partner James Evans, is to let peo- ple try the jerky before buying in stores, and to spread the word about their prod- ucts. Sales are great at the store so far, he said, and it also serves as an education tool. The opening attracted more than 150 people to the store, where they sampled the brand's craft jerkies, its unique take on trail mix and its newest product, biltong. "Biltong is ingrained in the culture in South Africa. You can't really compare it to anything here in the States," said Evans. "There's always biltong served ― there's a joke that babies teethe on biltong there. It's that important." The air-dried meat snack is still rela- tively unknown in the U.S. It differs from jerky because it air dries in a big, long strip, a cut from the round of the cow. In South Africa, it's sometimes sold in thicker slices, but Made By True's New Jersey facility shaves it into smaller pieces, which is how most people eat it. The result is a tender meat that's easy to chew and bite off. It comes in three flavors: Cape Town Classic, Little Bit of Spice and A Savory EPIC Provisions Unveils Rise & Grind Bars EPIC Provisions, the snack brand on a mission to make humanely raised, animal- based superfoods, announced several new offerings including the NEW Rise & Grind™ morning-inspired bar line and new flavors across EPIC's pork skin, snack strip, and performance bar lines. Among the newly unveiled offerings is the EPIC Rise & Grind Bar, a 1.5-ounce morning-inspired bar made with organic egg yolks from Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs, humanely raised pork, and chicken raised without antibiotics, providing the nutrients your body needs to prepare for the busy day ahead. They are available in two varieties – bacon & egg yolks, which offers 9 grams of protein; and chicken, egg yolks, & apple, which offers 13 grams of protein. EPIC's gluten-free and paleo- friendly Rise & Grind bars will be avail- able nationwide in June. Other new offerings include five deli- cious additions to EPIC's current portfolio, including: EPIC Bison and Chicken Sriracha Snack Strips bring popular EPIC product flavors to this convenient snack form. The chicken sriracha strip represents our first EPIC launch made with 100% free-range chicken. The bison strip is our latest 100% grass-fed product launch. The new flavors will begin to appear on shelves this month. EPIC Cinnamon Churro Baked Pork Rinds add another hint of sweetness to our pork skins portfolio following the success of our maple cracklings. The new flavor will be available on shelves in June 2019. EPIC Jalapeño Pork Crack- lings add a little heat to the current crackling lineup and will be available on shelves starting in June 2019. EPIC Performance Co- conut Lime Bar is made with cage-free egg whites and crafted with only five ingredients, featuring tropical flavors from coconut and lime oil. All perform- ance bars are great for pre- and post-work- out. The new variety will be available on shelves beginning in June. In 2012, EPIC Provisions launched the world's first 100 percent grass-fed meat, fruit, and nut bar. EPIC provides whole food offerings that prioritize animal wel- fare and human health. Every EPIC prod- uct is made from consciously sourced animal meat, complemented by adding fruit, nuts, seeds and creative spice blends. With over ten product lines and ten animal proteins available, EPIC products are al- ways gluten-free and absent of grain, soy and dairy. To learn more visit epicprovisions.com. n Adventure. As noted on the back of each package, Made By True biltong contains 16 grams of protein per ounce and a low sodium count at 200 milligrams per serving. That's because it doesn't require as much salt to preserve as jerky, and vinegar helps pre- serve it as well, though the vinegar doesn't overpower other flavors. These health ben- efits attract the health-conscious, active crowd that seeks out high-protein snacks. The Center for Generational Kinetics es- timated that 89 percent of Millennials con- sumed one or more better-for-you snacks in the past week, and Nielsen's Vice Pres- ident of Consumer Insights Jorday Rost said meat snacks are a fast-growing cate- gory, in large part because Americans are trying to get more protein in their diets in what they perceive as a more natural vehi- cle than powders and bars. According to Fona International's September report on meat snacks, 20 percent of women re- ported eating meat snacks, as brands in this category have begun successfully marketing to women. Made By True is one of those compa- nies. Its six flavors of jerky appeal to a wide audience, said Evans, including women ― and older women. "My mom, for instance, this [Blackberry Merlot] is her favorite flavor," said Evans. "She's 70, she plays golf three days a week, and she brings our jerky to her women's golf group and they all love it." In addition to Blackberry Merlot, flavors include The Old Fashioned: Honey Bour- bon Brisket, The Sinsa: Korean BBQ, The OG: Original Peppered, The Sweet Heat: Thai Chili Mango and The Mountie: Maple Glazed Pepper. Older audiences are likely to enjoy the biltong and The Mountie, as the meat isn't tough like a lot of jerky. Along with its jerkies, Made By True offers a mix snack called Trail Remix. It's a com- bination of jerky and trail mix, sepa- rated by a seal that keeps the meat fresh and peels apart when snackers want to mix them up. It comes in three flavors: All About That Baste turkey jerky mix, Don't Go Bacon My Heart uncured bacon jerky mix and Carne Diem peppered beef jerky mix. Made By True's offerings haven't al- ways been so extensive, though its three partners decided together that they didn't want to be just another jerky company, said Evans. The trio ― Evans, who was a mutual fund wholesaler, Jess Thomas, who was a third-generation cattle rancher and Kevin Hix, a former accountant ― quit their jobs in 2015 to start selling the jerky they'd been making together as friends. They had friends in the Bay Area's tech industry, and the company got its start sell- ing to companies like Facebook, Twitter and Uber, where employees are provided free snacks – one of those snacks being Made By True jerkies. Evans said the Trail Remix was the brand's first step outside of jerky, but biltong was their pet project. "We had heard about biltong ― for like, two, three years, people were telling us about it, they had gone to South Africa," he said. "But we didn't know how to make it; nobody was making it here in the States, so what we did is, we took a trip, all three of us, to South Africa last summer. We spent about three weeks there, in Johannesburg, Kim- berly ― which is kind of in the middle of the bush, but there were some cattle ranches there we went to ― and then fi- nally Cape Town." Introduced by their South African in- vestment partner, 1K1V, they met with 20 different biltong manufacturers, from small mom-and-pop operations to massive manufacturing facilities, in addition to spice blend companies and cattle ranches. From those beginnings, Made By True has seen success in the U.S. market, now available in 2,500 stores, and as of late January, Sprouts markets. Through the retail shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and word of mouth, Evans said he ex- pects the company to go even further this year. n

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