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Meat snacks go mainstream: protein, portability and portion control are helping to keep the category strong with consumers.

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Meat snacks just aren't what they used to be. And that's actually a good thing. Today's meat snacks are softer, sometimes shaped differently and available in more exotic flavor and seasoning combinations. They're also targeted to a broader base of consumers and positioned for different eating occasions. (Think lunch boxes.) Factors such as these are helping to position the category for further growth.

A peek at Chicago-based Information Resources, Inc. data suggests that sales are a bit lackluster, but it's important to keep in mind that these statistics include neither the all-important convenience channel nor Wal-Mart --another key retail venue for meat snacks. For the year-long period ending Nov. 4, 2007, for example, jerky sales in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart were off by 2.1% for a total of $206.4 million. Sales of all other dried meat snacks were up just .2% for a total of $107.1 million.

But that doesn't tell the full story. According to leading meat snack vendors such as Jack Link's brand marketer Link Snacks, Minong, Wis., the convenience channel accounts for nearly 50% of category sales volume, with Wal-Mart contributing almost 20% more. And sales in those channels have been strong, at least for Jack Link's.

With fewer consumers enamored with low-carb dieting these days, meat snack marketers must work harder to get the word out about their products' attributes.

"We're in a really competitive industry, especially with beef jerky," says Baron Bridgford II, special projects manager for Chicago-based Bridgford Foods. Retailers are cutting back on the number of vendors whose products they stock, opting to go with a shorter list of top performers, Bridgford continues, adding that he believes, ultimately, that this works to benefit the shopper.

"Too much variety can be overwhelming for the consumer," Bridgford says.

Keeping it Current

At the same time, however, new product forms--included in IRI's "all other" categorization--are adding excitement to the...

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