Meat+Poultry - October 2017 - 20

C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E

that's paleo, or part of a health tribe or
Whole30, are really going to help to continue to
grow the category."

PRODUCTS FOR ALL CONSUMERS

Uncured pork and
turkey varieties of
bacon give consumers a
choice when looking for
healthy indulgences.

MEAT+ POULTRY | 10.17 | www.meatpoultry.com

Applegate

20

company with less expertise in foodservice, the
ability to tap into Hormel's knowledge in that
segment could translate into future growth.
Glenn says many of the new diet trends
and health tribes give her confidence that
cleaner bacon produced under strict animal
welfare standards will grow alongside the
healthier eating trends and movement toward
more socially conscious food production, and
Applegate's new No Sugar Bacon fits into both
of those silos.
"I do think bacon is one of those great
indulgences," Glenn says. "It's not necessarily
considered healthy, but it is a great protein
source. I think you marry 'I really want that
wonderful taste and that indulgence,' with 'I'm
getting my protein, but I'm also removing the
sugar.' So, I think as consumers' consciousness
kind of awakens around what's in their food
and where it comes from, products like these
will continue to grow."
Applegate's associate product manager,
Leah Sbriscia, agrees. "Bacon as a whole is a
$4.3 billion industry and it's on track to surpass
$5 billion by 2020," she says. "It's continuing to
grow and we believe these no sugar products,
these offerings that speak to people that are
following certain high protein diets whether

Naturals Sunday Bacon represents Applegate's
No. 1 bacon product and is available as an
organic SKU. The traditional, hickory-smoked
bacon was the first bacon SKU for Applegate
and its entry into the bacon market.
"It's our flagship into the bacon world,"
Glenn says. "I think people came looking for a
cleaner option with that great taste and we've
always promoted you don't need to have bacon
every day, but when you want to indulge it's a
healthier option. That's how the Sunday Bacon
name came about. So, it's been our longest
and first launch SKU, but also one that a lot of
consumers know Applegate for."
The Sunday Bacon also served as the model
for Applegate's new No Sugar Bacon. The No
Sugar Bacon is very similar to the Sunday
Bacon with the sugar removed. The team at
Applegate is excited about the recent launch
and believes strongly in the new product.
"We're really excited about the potential
of it and looking forward to seeing the growth
of it," Sbriscia says. "We see a demand for the
no sugar bacons in general. So, we're really
excited to be joining with the no sugar SKU
and providing that product to brand loyalists
who are looking for that no sugar bacon."
The impetus for the no sugar product
comes out of the health and wellness
movement and some of the new diets. The
paleo diet and the Whole30 diet are currently
on trend and both emphasize reducing or
eliminating sugar, at least for a period of time.
Many consumers looking at nutrition facts
panels are looking for foods with no or very
low sugar content when choosing what to
purchase and eat.
"Sugar has become kind of the evil when
looking at nutritional facts panels and we
found through research that 65 percent of
adults were looking to cut back or completely
avoid sugar in their diets," Sbriscia says. "Even
in our office, we know people who are trying to
cut back on their sugar intake."
Applegate developed the SKU with the
desire to maintain the salty, smoky flavor of
good bacon that bacon consumers want. It
took a few rounds of development to get the
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