No-sugar proteins
A number of Pederson’s Natural Farms’ products now feature “Whole30 Approved” and “Paleo friendly” labels. The company that produces sausage, hot dogs and hams, but mostly bacon, made adjustments to its products to cater to the popular meat-centric diets. The company launched its no-sugar line in 2012.
“We were really looking for gaps in the meat category," said Stacy Dudley, vice-president of marketing at Pederson's. "What were consumers asking for, and how could we potentially meet their needs as they pertained to meat protein? What we noticed was that there was a big demand for no-sugar proteins, specifically in the Whole30 and Paleo communities and no-sugar pork bacon seemed to be really hard to find. We were seeing at least two posts a week on our Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and blog comments asking, ‘Where can I find no-sugar or Whole30 approved bacon?’ This really prompted us to start the conversation. We knew we had the product, it was just a matter of finding ways to educate consumers and create awareness of its availability.
“We are continuously looking for ways to clean up our labels by simplifying our ingredients. We’ve removed allergens, sugars, unnecessary ingredients... basically all the junk. We’re a no-nonsense kind of company both in our ingredients and in our process,” Ms. Dudley said. “We are continually evaluating our callouts on our packaging and making sure we are communicating the most important points of difference.”
Pederson’s products not only feature “Whole30 Approved” and “Paleo friendly” labels, they boast claims including no sugar added, vegetarian fed, raised without antibiotics, humanely raised, no nitrates or nitrites added and no preservatives.
“We want to develop products that meet our customer’s needs,” Ms. Dudley said. “Protein diets definitely provide a niche opportunity in our category.”
