When Kirkland Signature shows up in a category, it’s usually not by accident. Seeing Kirkland launch grass-fed beef sticks feels like a clear signal that beef sticks have officially moved beyond “nice impulse snack” into everyday protein staple territory. Private label doesn’t jump in unless the demand, repeat, and economics are already there — especially at the Costco scale. From a category perspective, this changes the dynamics fast: -Premium cues like grass-fed, high protein, low sugar are now table stakes, not differentiators -The value bar just moved, putting pressure on national brands to justify price and claims -Beef sticks start behaving less like jerky and more like bars, yogurt, or shakes in how shoppers use them The bigger takeaway for me: this is beef sticks growing up as a category. When Costco makes room for it under Kirkland, it’s no longer niche — it’s mainstream. Curious how others are thinking about this shift. Is growth coming more from premiumization, or from private label making the category more accessible? #CategoryManagement #PrivateLabel #Costco #Kirkland #ProteinSnacks #CPG #RetailTrends
Having bid on Kirkland it was apparent that capacity was the key constraint to launching this product as the velocities of branded product continued to grow. Quality and Price were the next key components. NBE quality wasn’t exactly achieved but the price gap and attributes are driving early success. I suspect quality will improve soon. Following suit, we were awarded business at Sam’s, Kroger, HEB, Target, & Fresh Market to name a few. All that business didn’t add up to the Costco volume. Costco is a Jaugernaut! The BFY stick industry continues to add capacity as the velocity has warranted mainstream branded and PB distribution. All of this occurring while herds are lowered and pricing has moved up. It is very fascinating to say the least! This is not a trend!
Jason Broswell
7mo
Wayne Sanderson farms in Mississippi but beef from Canada
These beef sticks are fantastic!