It’s no baloney that giving consumers what they want will make your business a success.
And that’s exactly what Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats is doing with the recent launch of its latest product, Smokehouse Snackers.
Available in 10-ounce packages, the Smokehouse Snackers product line was launched in mid-May, according to David Frey, senior marketing manager, Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats.
“This was very much a consumer-driven product because we have a very loyal local fanbase and that is really where our business thrives,” said Frey. “Whenever the team was going to events or demos, we were cutting up the product and serving it in cubes, typically just like people do at home. The question that kept coming up from consumers all the time was, ‘Where can I buy this?’”
The answer to that question, for now, is at Boyer’s and Karn’s grocery stores, the Pennsylvania General Store, which is available online, and at Seltzer’s outlet store in Palmyra.
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In the works in the coming months is a plan to expand to other retail stores as well as making Snackers available via the company’s new e-commerce website, which went live earlier this month at seltzersoutletstore.com.
“(The e-commerce store) is another big project we’ve been working on to expand our footprint across the country,” said Frey, when asked how the product fits into the company’s strategic plan. “We have a lot of good fans across the country and we want to expand and give them the opportunity to have access to our products.”
The near-simultaneous launch of Snackers and the e-commerce store did not happen by accident.
“Snackers will be a big driver of that (online store) as we work to reach people who have never heard of Lebanon bologna or who have tried our products before,” added Frey.
Frey said it was about a six- to eight-month process from ideation to product release with a focus on packaging so that the new line aligns with the company’s brand. Seltzer’s is a 120-year-old, fourth-generation, family-owned business based in Palmyra.
“There were many discussions about the concept of and ideas for how the packaging should look,” said Frey. “We wanted a new bag that reflects the smokehouses and traditions of Seltzer’s since we are the last wooden smokehouses in the country.”
As might be expected, consumers were also involved in the decision-making process for the package design of the new Smokehouse Snackers.
“The final look, the final meeting, came through consumer surveys,” said Frey. “We have very responsive and very responsible consumers. We wanted to not only give them what they wanted but also a final product that would resonate with them.”
Another driver for developing this product was to meet a need for those who lead an active lifestyle.
Besides grabbing some bologna to go, Frey said Snackers is ideal for other situations, too. A concerted effort will be made to have charcuterie influencers on social media promote it as a charcuterie meat, the perfect item for party platters, and an hors dour when entertaining guests.
“People eat differently today, there’s a lot more snacking and that category continues to grow and change,” said Frey. “We wanted to continue to use our core product, and not only take what we do well, but also provide it into additional formats for easier entertaining and for snacking on the go without changing our core products or how we produce them.”
Frey said Snackers, which comes in original, sweet and double smoked sweet flavors, is the same product consumers have loved for many generations.
“This is the same Lebanon bologna that you always loved, a product that is already known,” said Frey. “It’s just already packaged, already ready to go. Snackers are by the people and for the people and we believe we are giving our consumers something they will really love.”
Frey said promotion is focusing within the digital space, which has contributed to queries from inquiring minds.
“One of the biggest comments we get in the digital space is, ‘Where can I get it?’ and ‘When can I get it?’” said Frey. “We kind of knew it was going to be positive when we built it out with people beforehand, but, yeah, it has been an extremely positive response so far.”
Consumer reaction via Facebook and Instagram to the new release and in stores has been tremendous.
“They’ve been very responsive and we’ve received some of our biggest social media responses to it, especially on Facebook,” said Frey. “There’s been a lot of other great responses as well. The first order that Karns brought in they pretty much ran out right away, so there’s been a lot of excitement and extremely positive feedback.”
In the coming months, Frey said product demonstration rollouts will occur in other grocery stores within the company’s 100-mile footprint from Palmyra and other promotions will occur as agreements are reached with fairs and other events like the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg in January.
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