The SKUs
Jack Link's and Meat Church BBQ have rolled out two limited-time jerky varieties at select Walmart locations across 48 states, with availability running through September 25. The collaboration translates two of Meat Church's top-selling BBQ rubs into shelf-ready snack formats: Holy Cow Beef Jerky, built on the brand's Texas-style Holy Cow rub, and Honey Hog Pork Jerky, drawing on the sweet-and-smoky Honey Hog rub profile.
For c-store category managers tracking meat snack velocity and LTO strategy, the Walmart-exclusive window is worth watching — limited-time, flavor-forward jerky programs have consistently outperformed baseline SKUs on turns during promotional periods, particularly when tied to recognizable third-party flavor brands.
Why It Matters for Operators
Meat snacks remain one of the strongest impulse categories in the convenience channel. Jerky and meat sticks routinely rank among the top-performing single-serve protein items at the register, and flavor innovation is the primary driver of trial. Holly LaVallie, SVP of Marketing and R&D at Link Snacks, framed the strategic logic plainly: taste drives repurchase. "If a snack doesn't taste great, they're not coming back," she said, noting that the partnership pairs Jack Link's protein credentials with Meat Church's seasoning authority.
Matt Pittman, founder of Meat Church BBQ, built his brand through competition BBQ, rubs, and a large digital following among backyard cooks and competition pitmasters. That community loyalty gives the co-brand credibility beyond a typical flavor extension — it functions as a built-in word-of-mouth engine reaching a consumer who already buys premium meat products and snacks frequently.
Channel Context
For operators stocking the meat snack door or peg wall, LTO co-branded SKUs present both an opportunity and a shelf-space decision. The Jack Link's and Meat Church program is Walmart-exclusive in its current form, which limits direct c-store participation in this particular launch. However, brand-licensed flavor collaborations in meat snacks are accelerating across channels, and Link Snacks — which manufactures across 11 countries and holds the No. 1 position in the U.S. meat snack market — has the distribution infrastructure to extend successful LTO concepts to convenience and other channels in subsequent phases.
The broader trend is relevant to c-store buyers evaluating center-store protein sets: BBQ-influenced flavor profiles — brisket rubs, smoked honey, Texas-style seasonings — are consistently among the highest-indexing flavor descriptors in new meat snack product launches. Pairing those flavor cues with a pitmaster personality who commands genuine enthusiast loyalty is a low-risk way to generate trial without deep discounting.
Link Snacks' portfolio, which includes Jack Link's, Lorissa's Organic Snacks, and Golden Island, gives the company multiple price-tier entry points across the meat snack set. The Meat Church collaboration sits at the premium, flavor-forward end of that spectrum.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
