Jeff’s STORY
I created and launched the company with only a few thousand dollars during the Great Recession of 2010, a time in history that the Department of Labor called, “the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression”. Well, no one ever IMAGINED what was coming 14 years later.
Despite humble beginnings and starting up the company without any operating capital, the Jeff’s brand grew over the years through hard work, creative strategies, product expansion and various channels of distribution. Eventually we had sold millions of bags of our jerky. Lots of people wanted it including wholesale accounts all over the USA.
Then in late 2019, the coronavirus pandemic caused a global social and economic disruption; now classified in history as the largest global recession since the Great Depression. We are certainly not alone in our struggle. It’s a tough time for families and businesses all over the world. The meat snack industry has been impacted on many, many levels including giant cost increases, shortages of supplies with long delays, and only a small, much more expensive workforce of people to meet the demands of manufacturing and distribution of our products. As a company, the humbling experience has destroyed everything we have built along the way and trying to keep the company afloat has drained all of our company’s working capital and assets. Jeff has drained all of his personal assets, savings and retirement funds in an effort to keep even a small glimpse of the company alive.
The coronavirus pandemic turned our world upside down. It is a sad tragedy for those who lost loved ones. Many of the business issues that we thought were going to improve when the masks came off… well, for nearly five years now, they just kept getting worse. We will see where this wild ride goes.
Jeff Richards
Founder
Jeff’s Favorite Flavor: He created them… so he LOVES them all, but the two flavors of beef jerky he consumes most often (when we can get them made) are Jamaican Jerk and Cranberry Jalapeno. And don’t get me started about our Sriracha Black Pepper bacon jerky that seems to now be permanently missing in action with no recourse. I REALLY LOVED that flavor.
Award Winning Gourmet Beef Jerky… Millions of Bags Sold
The best beef jerky is in the details and we take the quality and taste of our beef jerky extremely seriously. That starts with a superior cut of American beef that is tender and full of flavor. We use the best ingredients and fine-tune our own marinades and recipes over and over until they reach culinary perfection. Many of the recipes were refined for three decades before we ever produced them commercially and even then it took two years to fine-tune our commercial process so that we could really deliver extraordinary flavor and quality to our customers. Some of our competitors may be satisfied with using shortcuts and standard ingredients, but that is no way to make a superior product. Every aspect of our quality goes beyond expectation to produce a mouth-watering, tender, superior, bold-flavored gourmet jerky that our customers love.
We are fortunate and humbled to have received many awards and much recognition for excellence in quality and taste. Watch the video clip below if you want to witness our crowning of “Best Beef Jerky in America, 1st Place Winner” for our signature Black Pepper & Sea Salt flavor, from a 6 week, 64 brand, elimination-style beef jerky competition, but otherwise just grab a bag and try it for yourself!
Nearly 3 million people have watched our hilarious YouTube Review: Irish People Try Real American Jerky. And that opportunity came because Jeff personally and promptly answered an email from a customer. The first Irish People Try video quickly led to a second one as well and between the two… about 4 million views and it still brings us business and brand recognition from all over the world.
You can also find thousands of stellar reviews of our jerky all over YouTube.
