Meat + Poultry - January 2004 - 26

many well-known jerky and meat snack products.
"We're not competing with the Slim Jim's of the world," says Dickerson. "Ostrim is a health food, not a snack food."
Ostrim is targeted to meet the growing demand for high-protein
foods by jocks, like marathon runners and body builders, but has
also begun showing up in kids' lunch boxes and executives' brief
cases. Dickerson says his job is to develop sales leads and market
the product, which he hopes will one day replace meal-replacementtype products on retailers' shelves. He knows the traditional jerky and
meat snack markets are already being dominated by a few megacompanies. "We don't look at other meat snacks as competition," he
says. "We consider protein bars as our competition." The difference
is, "We're a real food."
Each 1.5-ounce Ostrim stick has 13 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of
fat and about 3 grams of carbohydrates. The product has a one-year
shelf life and, unlike many meat sticks, trace amounts of nitrites. This
past year, the company introduced a .28-ounce version of Ostrim to
make it easier to stick in a purse or sports bag.
The biggest windfall for the company came when officials with
General Nutrition Center stores agreed to carry Ostrim in 1996. Now
the product, which has grown to include four flavors and two sizes, is
on the shelves of more than 1,000 G.N.C. stores. While not willing to
discuss sales, Dickerson says the company is growing at an annual
rate of 25 percent.
He says supplies of ostrich meat in the U.S. can't keep up with
demand for Ostrim. Dickerson makes up for the shortfall by import-

ing the meat from Australia, where prices are lower, but freight costs
makes it about the same price as buying domestically. The product
is most successful in the Northeast, second to states in the Southeast, where it is sold in Tree of Life stores, Ostrim's second-biggest
customer.
Dickerson hopes the demand will continue migrating west, but
with a staff of less than 10 people, he isn't prepared to go large all at
once. "We don't have millions of dollars to promote it," he says. "We
don't even have a sales force. We rely mostly on word of mouth and
reputation."
This strategy has worked so far. Ostrim is sold by 24 distributors
and retailers besides G.N.C., with names that include Athletic Nutrition, Elite Athlete and Sports Supplements.
Joy to the world
Like Protos, Applegate Farms, Branchburg, N.J., is aiming to give
active consumers a dose of protein on the go. Perhaps best known
as a manufacturer of natural and organic deli meats - including turkey, roast beef, pork, poultry and sausage - the company saw an
opportunity to keep pace with people on hiking trails, ski slopes and
golf courses. This past October, Applegate introduced its version of a
healthier meat stick, known as the Joy Stick.
The company is playing up its natural/organic attributes and lack
of antibiotics and steroids to appeal to the high-energy crowd. "We've
set out to create a fun, protein-packed snack that won't make you
glow in the dark," says Stephen McDonnell, president and C.E.O.

Formulation

Spices &
Seasonings

Hydrocolloids

New Product
Concept

Costs

Emulsifiers

Flavors

Processing
& Storage

For more information, see ad index on Page 85

MEAT&POULTRY

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JANUARY 2004

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Meat + Poultry - January 2004

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