Wholesale · Co-Packing · Jerky
Jerky co-packing.
Every jerky brand makes the same promise on the bag: real beef, real smoke, not dried out. Very few co-packers can actually deliver it at production scale. Stittsworth manufactures whole-muscle jerky for outside brands the same way we make our own — hand-trimmed beef, real marination, hardwood smoke, vacuum-sealed under your label.
Stittsworth Meats · Bemidji, Minnesota · Since 1940
On this page
- 1. Why brands bring jerky to us.
- 2. What your jerky can be.
- 3. Inquiry to first run.
- 4. Who this is (and isn’t) for.
- 5. FAQ.
1. Why brands bring jerky to us.
The jerky aisle splits into two worlds: mass-extruded, chopped-and-formed product from national plants, and real whole-muscle jerky from shops like ours. If your brand lives in the second world — or wants to — you need a co-packer whose default is real muscle, not a plant that treats it as a premium exception.
We’ve been smoking meat in northern Minnesota for five generations. Jerky and beef strips are a core Stittsworth line, which means your product runs on proven equipment with a proven process — not a side project.
2. What your jerky can be.
- Whole-muscle only — hand-trimmed beef, sliced with the grain of the product you want; never chopped-and-formed.
- Marination — your marinade, ours, or one we develop together. Real ingredients, tracked lot to lot.
- Real smoke — a hardwood smokehouse, the flavor layer most jerky co-packers fake with liquid smoke.
- Fresh-style jerky — the moist, refrigerated style customers describe as “not dried-out,” with a 180-day refrigerated shelf life.
- Shelf-stable formats — shelf-stable jerky for c-store and distribution programs, 365-day shelf life under your label.
- Packaging — vacuum-sealed retail packs, bulk, and display-ready programs with your branding.
3. Inquiry to first run.
- Discovery call — product, format (refrigerated vs shelf-stable), volume, timeline.
- Recipe — your marinade, a collaboration, or our existing jerky line under your label.
- Pilot run — sampling, packaging approval, shelf-life testing.
- Production agreement — MOQs, pricing, lead times, labeling, IP terms in writing.
- Ongoing runs — scheduled to your forecast. We make, you sell.
The full playbook lives on our co-packing overview. Curious how we think about jerky itself? Read the beef jerky guide.
4. Who this is (and isn’t) for.
Right fit: jerky brands built on whole muscle and clean labels, D2C companies scaling beyond their first kitchen or cottage license, ranch and farm brands turning their beef into retail product, and retailers building a store-brand jerky with real provenance.
Wrong fit: chopped-and-formed products, lowest-possible-cost programs, and brands that need heavy preservative loads for multi-year shelf life. We make jerky the way jerky was made before it became an extrusion category.
Snack sticks
Whole-muscle meat in natural sheep casings, smoked in the same smokehouse.
Open →Hot dogs
Emulsified beef and bison dogs for brands built on sourcing.
Open →Private label
Start from our existing recipes and get to market faster.
Open →All co-packing
The full playbook, from discovery call to ongoing production runs.
Open →Product specs
Formats, pack sizes, and specifications in one place.
Open →5. FAQ.
Do you make shelf-stable jerky or refrigerated jerky?
Both. Our fresh-style jerky runs refrigerated (180-day shelf life); for private-label programs we also produce shelf-stable jerky formats with a 365-day shelf life. Which one fits depends on your channel — D2C and butcher-case programs love fresh-style, c-store and distributor sets usually need shelf-stable.
Is your jerky whole muscle or formed?
Whole muscle, always — real beef, hand-trimmed and sliced, then marinated and smoked. We do not run chopped-and-formed jerky.
Can you match my existing jerky recipe?
Usually, yes. Co-pack: we work from your marinade and process or develop one together, then confirm it in a pilot run before any commercial production. Private label: start from our existing jerky recipes and get to market faster.
What is the minimum order for private label jerky?
We work on a pilot-run model — small batch first for sampling and shelf-life testing, then a production agreement that sets MOQs, pricing, and lead times in writing. Bring your target volume to the discovery call and we will give you a straight answer on fit.
Do you use liquid smoke?
No. Jerky is smoked over hardwood in our smokehouse — real wood smoke, not a liquid-smoke spray. It is the flavor layer most jerky co-packers fake.
Is your facility USDA inspected?
Yes — all production runs under USDA inspection in our Turtle River, Minnesota facility, the same smokehouse that produces the Stittsworth branded line.
Same smokehouse, your label.
Whatever your jerky ends up being — fresh-style or shelf-stable, your marinade or ours — it is made on the same equipment, with the same process, as the jerky that carries our own name.
More formats: Snack stick co-packing · Hot dog co-packing · All co-packing · Product specs
Let’s talk
Let’s talk about your jerky.
Call (218) 586-2149 or submit a co-pack inquiry. We’ll get back within 1–2 business days.