J&D's Down Home Enterprises, also known as J&D's Foods, was an American company founded in 2007 by

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow to produce vegetarian based,

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

-related products such as Bacon Salt and Baconnaise. In November 2017, the company was purchased by L and L Specialty Foods, based in

Altura, Minnesota Altura ( ) is a city in Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 493 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Altura has been in operation since 1891. The city was named after Altura, Spain. Geography According to ...

History

The company was founded in 2007 by

Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow. The company's initial product, Bacon Salt, was conceived by Esch while considering the virtues of the drink

Mitch Morgan A Mitch Morgan is a cocktail that consists of a shot of bourbon whiskey served with a piece of fried bacon as a cocktail garnish and served in a glass coated on the inside with a thin veneer of bacon grease. The Mitch Morgan is a popular beverag ...

, which is composed of a shot of

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

and a piece of fried bacon as a garnish. After registering a trademark and purchasing an internet domain, Esch and Lefkow started producing Bacon Salt. They funded their company with a $5,000 loan from Lefkow's 3-year-old son Dean, who had won the money on ''

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on a recurring segment on the Japanese variety show '' Fun TV with Kato-chan and ...

'' for a video in which he smacks his dad with a hit while playing

T-Ball Tee-ball (also teeball, tee ball or T-ball) is a team sport based on a simplified form of baseball or softball. It is intended as an introduction for children to develop bat-and-ball game skills and have fun. Description Tee-ball associations g ...

. Bacon Salt became a hit, and as of 2007 was sold in all

50 states The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. Both the states and the United Sta ...

and 26 other countries. Esch and Lefkow have since repaid the $5,000 loan.

Marketing

Initially Esch and Lefkow had no advertising budget and were met by resistance from food brokers and distributors who were unwilling to take a chance on an unknown product. Instead of traditional advertising, they sent jars of Bacon Salt to editors of food

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

s and set up online profiles for Bacon Salt for online communities including

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. The technique worked, and Esch and Lefkow received 800 orders in the first week for their three varieties (original, hickory, and peppered) which included an order from a customer in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for 36 jars. They sold 20,000 jars between their opening in July 2007 and November 2007. In addition to online marketing, Esch and Lefkow spent an average of 30 minutes per day phoning the media, and explaining why they should do a story about them.

Mayonnaise Wrestling

On October 28, 2008, J&D's Foods hosted The World's First Charity No Holds Barred Battle To The Death Mayonnaise Wrestling Match at Heavens night club in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. The event featured three bouts of wrestling in 200 gallons of mayonnaise inside a ring made of old mattresses and hay bales. The main event included a fight between combatants dressed in a 7' foam Bacon suit and a giant jar of Mayonnaise. The event promoted the launch of their new bacon-flavored mayonnaise, Baconnaise, and funds raised benefited the family of a deceased co-worker. J&D's hosted a complimentary

BLT A BLT is a type of sandwich, named for the initials of its primary ingredients, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It can be made with varying recipes according to personal preference. Simple variants include using different types of lettuce or tomato ...

sandwich bar served $3 Mitch Morgan shots made with

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Suntory Global Spirits. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and ...

bourbon.

The Bacathlon

On November 19, 2009, J&D's Foods hosted The Bacathlon at Heavens night club in Seattle, Washington. Promoted as The World's First Bacon-Themed Multi-Sport Athletic and Endurance Event that featured an attempt to set the World Record for Bacon Eating. The Bacathlon featured local Seattle personalities competing against each other dressed in giant foam Bacon suits. The competitors included

Ben Dragavon Ben Dragavon (born December 31, 1983) is a former American soccer player who is currently an assistant coach for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League. Personal life Career Youth and College Dragavon graduated from Monroe Hi ...

from

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

, Mark Rahner from ROTTEN Comics, Thee Ted Smith from

KISW KISW (99.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and has studios in Downtown Seattle and a transmitter on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. In addition to a standard analo ...

99.9 FM, Josh Black a.k.a. Ronald McFondle from Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestling, Justin Barnes from KFNK 104.9 FM, Sheeza Brickhouse from the

Rat City Rollergirls Rat City Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2004 as Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, the league has incorporated alternative cultural influences, and has inspired and mentored other leagues. Rat C ...

, Erik "The Red" Denmark from

Major League Eating Major League Eating (MLE) is an organization that oversees professional competitive eating events and television specials. The league airs its annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN. Brothers Richard ...

and Jessica Williams the J&D's Foods Fall 2009 intern. J&D's once again served $3 Mitch Morgan shots made with Maker's Mark bourbon.

Novelty Products

J&D's Foods has used novelty bacon-flavored products Bacon Lip Balm, baconlube, Mmmvelopes, BaconAir, Bacon Coffins, Bacon Baby Formula and

bacon soda Bacon soft drinks are soft drink beverages with the flavor of bacon. Several US companies produce bacon soda brands, including Jones Soda, Lockhart Smokehouse and Rocket Fizz. Manufacturers Jones Soda and J&D's Down Home Enterprises, both bas ...

to generate media buzz and spread the awareness of their mainstream consumer products.

Products

J&D's markets a variety of bacon-flavored products, including:

Bacon Salt

Bacon Salt was the first product developed by J&D's Foods. The first attempt at making bacon salt was to take bacon grease and pour it over kosher salt. That attempt result was unsuccessful and, according to Esch, tasted disgusting. Upon perfecting the recipe, the pair introduced the first three flavors of Bacon Salt — Original, Hickory and Peppered varieties. J&D's went on to launch Natural Bacon Salt and the Limited Edition Holiday Flavors Cheddar, Jalapeño, Maple, Applewood and Mesquite Bacon Salt in 2008. Bacon Salt is

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

. Hickory Bacon Salt is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. In 2008, J&D's Foods launched "Operation Bacon Salt" to provide Bacon Salt to troops serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan where pork is not readily available. After receiving several emails from troops stationed abroad J&D's began mailing free Bacon Salt to troops.

Baconnaise

Introduced in October 2008, Baconnaise is a bacon-flavored

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

spread available in both Regular and Lite versions.

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...

of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'' described Baconnaise as being "for people who want heart disease but are too lazy to actually make the bacon."

Bacon Lip Balm

Introduced in October 2008, Bacon Lip Balm is a bacon-flavored lip balm. J&D's bacon-inspired lip balm, which is a "hot seller" on their web site, having sold over 50,000 units, often by the dozen. Customer reviews range from being described as the worst thing they have ever heard of to the greatest thing ever. When Esch and Lefkow appeared on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' in March 2009, Winfrey's co-hosts Mark Consuelos and Ali Wentworth applied Bacon Lip Balm during the interview.

BaconPOP

Introduced in November 2009, BaconPOP is a bacon-flavored microwave

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

Bacon Ranch

Introduced in November 2009, Bacon Ranch is a bacon-flavored

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

dip/mix, to be combined with buttermilk, sour cream and/or mayonnaise.

Mmmvelopes

Introduced in November 2009, Mmmvelopes are bacon-flavored envelopes that both look like pieces of bacon and taste like bacon when licked.

References

External links

J&D's Down Home Enterprises

Bacon Salt UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:JandD's Down Home Enterprises Companies based in Seattle Food manufacturers of the United States Bacon Condiment companies of the United States