| Industry | Foodstuffs |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 2007 |
| Founder | Justin Esch Dave Lefkow |
| Fate | Sold |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Products | Bacon Salt, Baconnaise |
| Owner | L and L Specialty Foods (since 2017) |
| Website | www |
J&D's Down Home Enterprises, also known as J&D's Foods, was an American company founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow to produce vegetarian based, bacon-related products such as Bacon Salt and Baconnaise. In November 2017, the company was purchased by L and L Specialty Foods, based in Altura, Minnesota.
The company was founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow. The company's initial product, Bacon Salt, was conceived by Esch while considering the virtues of the drink Mitch Morgan, which is composed of a shot of bourbon and a piece of fried bacon as a garnish. After registering a trademark and purchasing an internet domain, Esch and Lefkow started producing Bacon Salt. [1] They funded their company with a $5,000 loan from Lefkow's 3-year-old son Dean, who had won the money on America's Funniest Home Videos for a video in which he smacks his dad with a hit while playing T-Ball. [2] Bacon Salt became a hit, and as of 2007 was sold in all 50 states and 26 other countries. Esch and Lefkow have since repaid the $5,000 loan. [1]
Initially Esch and Lefkow had no advertising budget and were met by resistance from food brokers and distributors who were unwilling to take a chance on an unknown product. Instead of traditional advertising, they sent jars of Bacon Salt to editors of food blogs and set up online profiles for Bacon Salt for online communities including MySpace and Facebook. The technique worked, and Esch and Lefkow received 800 orders in the first week for their three varieties (original, hickory, and peppered) which included an order from a customer in Texas for 36 jars. They sold 20,000 jars between their opening in July 2007 and November 2007. [3] In addition to online marketing, Esch and Lefkow spent an average of 30 minutes per day phoning the media, and explaining why they should do a story about them. [4]
On October 28, 2008, J&D's Foods hosted The World's First Charity No Holds Barred Battle To The Death Mayonnaise Wrestling Match at Heavens night club in Seattle, Washington. The event featured three bouts of wrestling in 200 gallons of mayonnaise inside a ring made of old mattresses and hay bales. The main event included a fight between combatants dressed in a 7' foam Bacon suit and a giant jar of Mayonnaise. [5] The event promoted the launch of their new bacon-flavored mayonnaise, Baconnaise, and funds raised benefited the family of a deceased co-worker. J&D's hosted a complimentary BLT sandwich bar served $3 Mitch Morgan shots made with Maker's Mark bourbon.
On November 19, 2009, J&D's Foods hosted The Bacathlon at Heavens night club in Seattle, Washington. Promoted as The World's First Bacon-Themed Multi-Sport Athletic and Endurance Event that featured an attempt to set the World Record for Bacon Eating. The Bacathlon featured local Seattle personalities competing against each other dressed in giant foam Bacon suits. The competitors included Ben Dragavon from Seattle Sounders FC, Mark Rahner from ROTTEN Comics, Thee Ted Smith from KISW 99.9 FM, Josh Black a.k.a. Ronald McFondle from Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestling, Justin Barnes from KFNK 104.9 FM, Sheeza Brickhouse from the Rat City Rollergirls, Erik "The Red" Denmark from Major League Eating and Jessica Williams the J&D's Foods Fall 2009 intern. J&D's once again served $3 Mitch Morgan shots made with Maker's Mark bourbon.[ citation needed ]
J&D's Foods has used novelty bacon-flavored products Bacon Lip Balm, baconlube, Mmmvelopes, BaconAir, Bacon Coffins, Bacon Baby Formula and bacon soda to generate media buzz and spread the awareness of their mainstream consumer products.[ citation needed ]
J&D's markets a variety of bacon-flavored products, including:
Bacon Salt was the first product developed by J&D's Foods. [1] The first attempt at making bacon salt was to take bacon grease and pour it over kosher salt. That attempt result was unsuccessful and, according to Esch, tasted disgusting. Upon perfecting the recipe, the pair introduced the first three flavors of Bacon Salt — Original, Hickory and Peppered varieties. [6] J&D's went on to launch Natural Bacon Salt and the Limited Edition Holiday Flavors Cheddar, Jalapeño, Maple, Applewood and Mesquite Bacon Salt in 2008. Bacon Salt is vegetarian and kosher. Hickory Bacon Salt is vegan. [3] [ dead link ] [6]
In 2008, J&D's Foods launched "Operation Bacon Salt" to provide Bacon Salt to troops serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan where pork is not readily available. After receiving several emails from troops stationed abroad J&D's began mailing free Bacon Salt to troops. [7] [8]
Introduced in October 2008, Baconnaise is a bacon-flavored mayonnaise spread available in both Regular and Lite versions. [9] Jon Stewart of The Daily Show described Baconnaise as being "for people who want heart disease but are too lazy to actually make the bacon." [10] [11]
Introduced in October 2008, Bacon Lip Balm is a bacon-flavored lip balm. J&D's bacon-inspired lip balm, which is a "hot seller" on their web site, having sold over 50,000 units, often by the dozen. Customer reviews range from being described as the worst thing they have ever heard of to the greatest thing ever. [6] When Esch and Lefkow appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 2009, Winfrey's co-hosts Mark Consuelos and Ali Wentworth applied Bacon Lip Balm during the interview.
Introduced in November 2009, BaconPOP is a bacon-flavored microwave popcorn.
Introduced in November 2009, Bacon Ranch is a bacon-flavored ranch dip/mix, to be combined with buttermilk, sour cream and/or mayonnaise.
Introduced in November 2009, Mmmvelopes are bacon-flavored envelopes that both look like pieces of bacon and taste like bacon when licked. [12]
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking. As a processed meat, the term ham includes both whole cuts of meat and ones that have been mechanically formed.
A potato chip or crisp is a thin slice of potato that has been deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appetizer. The basic chips are cooked and salted; additional varieties are manufactured using various flavorings and ingredients including herbs, spices, cheeses, other natural flavors, artificial flavors, and additives.
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish, used as a central ingredient, or as a flavouring or accent. Regular bacon consumption is associated with increased mortality and other health concerns.
Ranch dressing is a savory, creamy American salad dressing usually made from buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, mustard, herbs, and spices mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise or another oil emulsion. Sour cream and yogurt are sometimes used in addition to, or as a substitute for, buttermilk and mayonnaise.
Lip balm or lip salve is a wax-like substance applied to the lips to moisturize and relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. Lip balm often contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, paraffin, and petrolatum, among other ingredients. Some varieties contain dyes, flavor, fragrance, phenol, salicylic acid, and sunscreen.
Carmex is a brand of lip balm produced by Carma Laboratories, Inc. It is sold in jars, sticks, and squeezable containers.
Hellmann's and Best Foods are American brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauce, salad dressing, condiments and other food products. They have been owned by the British multinational company Unilever since 2000. The Hellmann's brand is sold in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; Latin America; Europe; Australia; the Middle East; Canada; India; and Pakistan. The Best Foods brand is sold in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains; in East Asia; Southeast Asia; Australia, and New Zealand.
Smoked salt is an aromatic salt smoked with any number of select bark free woods for up to 14 days. The kind of wood used for smoking impacts the flavor, which can range from subtle to bold or even sweet. The most common choices are alder, apple wood, hickory, mesquite, and oak. Infused smoked salts like smoked bacon chipotle sea salt are very popular because of their dynamic flavor profiles.
Baconnaise is a bacon-flavored, mayonnaise-based food spread that is ovo vegetarian and kosher certified. It was created by Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow, founders of J&D's Foods, in November 2008, and sold 40,000 jars within six months. It was test-marketed in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to determine consumer interest. After being featured on both The Daily Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show, sales of Baconnaise increased significantly, with more than a million jars sold.
Bacon mania is passionate enthusiasm for bacon in the United States and Canada. Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon-related items have been popularized rapidly via the internet.
A Mitch Morgan is a cocktail that consists of a shot of bourbon whiskey served with a piece of fried bacon as a cocktail garnish and served in a glass coated on the inside with a thin veneer of bacon grease.
A Bacon Martini, also known as bacontini, pig on the rocks or a bloody bacon martini, is a cocktail that consists of bacon-infused vodka served with a garnish that can include strips of bacon, bacon bits, or olives. Variants may include the addition of Bloody Mary mix. Although not a vodka martini, which consists of vodka and vermouth, the term "bacon martini" is consistent with the trend of calling any straight liquor in a martini glass a "martini," such as the saketini or other variations.
Bacon vodka is vodka infused with bacon flavor and the addition of savory flavor to mixed drinks. The infused alcohol can be sipped but is typically used in mixed drinks such as the Bloody Mary or bacon martini.
Bacon jam is a bacon-based relish, similar to the Austrian starter Verhackertes. It is made through a process of slow cooking the bacon, along with onions, vinegar, brown sugar and spices, before mixing it in a food processor. In 2015, Martin and Suzie Cowley of Wales claimed to have invented Bacon Jam. However, Chef Mike Oraschewsky stated they started making Bacon Jams in 2013. Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Foods has been selling Bacon Jam as of 2010.
A BLT cocktail is a cocktail made out of the contents of a BLT sandwich, blended together with vodka. Variants on the drink include utilizing bacon vodka instead of traditional vodka, substituting liquor for lettuce, incorporating bacon salt, or including cucumber flavored vodka.
Bacon soft drinks are soft drink beverages with the flavor of bacon. Several US companies produce bacon soda brands, including Jones Soda, Lockhart Smokehouse and Rocket Fizz.
Salt & Straw is an ice cream company based in Portland, Oregon. The company was launched in 2011 by cousins Kim Malek and Tyler Malek.
