Fresh Ideas For A Classic Favorite

The Baconer was founded on the belief that, while American consumers passionately love bacon, the industry has failed to offer them anything new in generations and the market is hungry for innovative products that inspire and delight. 

Founders Camilo Velasquez and Elisa Lewis first learned to craft fine cured meats while running an underground supper club in Brooklyn, NY. After moving their family to the San Francisco Bay Area, they spent years curing and smoking bacon at home, and quickly learned that while traditional bacon strips are delicious, bacon can be so much more. Enter the “Aha!” moment! None of the brands at their local markets had anything like the thick-cut bacon steaks, smoked lardons and ground bacon they were making, or the rich complex flavor profiles they created by their custom blended cures. 

Founded in 2016, The Baconer established a local following at farmers’ markets throughout the Bay Area. Fast forward to 2018, we launched a wholesale business selling to restaurants and grocery stores, doubling the company’s annual sales. In 2020 we launched our e-commerce channel, shipping to all 50 states and once again doubled our annual sales. In 2021 we expanded our wholesale business into key markets across the US, entered the dry-goods category with a new line of bacon rubs, and launched a virtual team building program focused on corporate team building experiences. These additional lines of business offer tremendous opportunities for growth, leveraging the premium brand we have built to take high-margin product lines into mass nationwide distribution. 

Join us as we break out beyond traditional bacon, introducing consumers to better ways to enjoy this timeless American food. 

There’s More to Bacon Than Bacon Strips

It’s no secret that bacon is one of America’s most beloved foods. However, while bacon is on the shelf in nearly every grocery store across the country, there is an overwhelming sense of sameness when perusing the bacon aisle.  Shelf after shelf, package after package, they all look the same: bacon strips, bacon strips and more bacon strips. 

The bacon market was lacking a standout brand that delivers genuinely inspiring products. 

Thinking Beyond the Strip

We’re going where no one has gone before with attention-grabbing products including XXL Bacon Steaks, Smoked Bacon Lardons and Ground Bacon. We created a line of bacon and related products to engage diverse groups of consumers: shoppers, chefs, grocery buyers, restaurateurs, corporates, gift givers and food lovers alike.

With our newly launched education program, we’ve created a pipeline to connect with corporate audiences, put our product in their hands and teach them how to elevate their dishes from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Baconer's approach is working: our revenue has increased 300% over the past 24 months. We have built a trusted brand; aligned with strategic food industry pioneers; and grown our retail, wholesale, product line and social media presence. We have two trademarks, ownership of thebaconer.com domain, and trade-secrets to all of our flavorings and rubs. And, we're getting national recognition for it!

Our Products

Crafting the most innovative products available today, The Baconer is committed to sourcing 100% USA made heritage breed Duroc pork, sustainably raised without hormones, antibiotics or growth promotants in a crate-free environment. Hand-crafted from heritage breed pork belly, richly flavored with herbs and spices and smoked low and slow over Sonoma wine country hardwoods, our bacon offers a perfect balance of sweet, umami and smoke, with a buttery texture for a deeply satisfying experience.

The addition of our uncured & sugar-free collection also allows us to offer a premium-quality and all-natural bacon line that expands our reach to the Paleo, Keto, Whole30 categories of consumers as well as appealing to anyone needing or wanting to reduce sugar intake.

Beyond Bacon

In 2021, we began to further diversify our portfolio with a line of all-purpose rubs—specially crafted for bacon—but with limitless applications. With a nationwide launch of our rub line on ABC’S “Good Morning America,” we’re filling a void in the spice category where we see tremendous growth opportunities with a unique offering boasting high margins, accessible price points and easy fulfillment. We see further expansion potential with additional rub flavors, sauces, bacon-bits and seasonings.

Virtual Team Building Program

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*The testimonials shown above may not be representative of the experience of other customers and is not a guarantee of future performance or success.

As corporate teams become increasingly more dispersed, we entered the team-building experience market in 2021. Our program is unique in that we develop menus built around our proprietary products, ship participants every ingredient they need direct to their doorstep, and lead large private groups in live virtual class experiences with personal instruction from our founder and leading bacon expert, Camilo Velasquez. We have seen enthusiastic early adoption with teams from Salesforce, Google, and other industry leaders. This model has proven highly profitable, scalable, and puts our product in the hands of a high-value, cross-industry customer segment.

Bacon is One of America’s Most Beloved Foods—and is More Popular Than Ever!

Everything's better with bacon, right?! With bacon’s growing appeal and diverse culinary applications, consumers are looking for inspiration with the most authentic, high-quality and hand-crafted products available. Bacon remains one of the most versatile ingredients in dishes—bringing serious flavor to burgers, cozied up with eggs, headlining a charcuterie board, paired with pasta, or even topping ice cream!  During the 2020 covid shelter in place, bacon continued to capture the attention of consumers as a pandemic powerhouse and pantry staple, and its popularity continues to grow. (In 2021, Twisted Bacon was a top Food Trend onTikTok; and Bacon Jam Recipe was a Top 10 Trending Recipe Search on Google, Year in Search, 2021.)

The global bacon market is projected to reach $66.2 billion by 2026. (Source)  In the U.S. alone, bacon sales accounted for the biggest growth in the meat category—with the bacon market growing nearly 23% from 2019-2020.(Source)

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With revenue growth doubling each year from 2018-2020 and increasing 63% in 2021, The Baconer is capitalizing on evolving consumer tastes, increased desire for responsible sourcing, a growing specialty food industry, booming interest in versatility, our authentic brand, and our best-in-class products to build on our success and lead innovation beyond the bacon aisle.

A Multi-Channel Business Model

The Baconer is growing our customer base with a multi-channel business strategy.  In our first three years of business, we established a local retail and wholesale customer base, and in December  2019, we launched our ecommerce platform in tandem with a feature on The Today Show. Moving into 2020, the company was well positioned to scale our DTC and began shipping to all 50 states as well as establishing strategic partnerships with 3rd party retailers.  Starting in 2021, we focused on channel expansion with an emphasis on corporate gifting, virtual team building experiences, and brick & mortar wholesalers nationwide. In early 2022, we partnered with Goldbelly, named by Fast Company as one of 2021's 10 Most Innovative Companies, to expand our e-commerce capabilities and reach an audience of more than a million well-qualified consumers.

• DTC represents 75% of our sales and is our highest growth channel. It includes Ecommerce, Affiliate Channels, Social Shopping Channels and Corporate Gifting. The Baconer has also secured key partnerships with leading nationwide brands such as Food52.com, Goldbelly and Touch of Modern.
• Wholesale is 25% of the business and includes Grocery, Food Service & Hospitality, and is rapidly growing which has helped fuel our expansion into 12 additional states in the last six months.
• Virtual Team Building is our newest business channel and we see tremendous growth potential. (Worldwide, 2500% more organizations are investing in virtual team building in response to COVID-19. The United States is the number 2 country investing in virtual team building. (Source)

Growing an Engaged Customer Base and Brand Partnerships in Major U.S. Markets.

We’re dedicated to expanding an active consumer base through a consistent social media presence, media coverage and strategic partnerships with significant brands including Eataly USA, Food52, Goldbelly and Touch of Modern. This continues to be a major driver for our products, sales, wholesale and retailer partnerships.  We have a customer base of more than 11,000, hundreds of 5-Star reviews, and we continue to bring innovation to the market with a product line that just stops you in your tracks.