Wholesale · Co-Packing · Snack Sticks
Snack stick co-packing.
The meat stick category is exploding — and almost every brand in it is looking for the same thing: a USDA-inspected co-packer that makes real sticks, not extruded protein tubes. Stittsworth manufactures snack sticks for outside brands in the same Turtle River smokehouse where we make our own: whole-muscle meat, natural sheep casings, real wood smoke.
Stittsworth Meats · Bemidji, Minnesota · Since 1940
On this page
- 1. Why brands bring sticks to us.
- 2. What your sticks can be.
- 3. Inquiry to first run.
- 4. Who this is (and isn’t) for.
- 5. FAQ.
1. Why brands bring sticks to us.
Most snack stick brands don’t own a USDA plant — they own a brand, a recipe, and a customer list. The product itself gets made by a co-manufacturer. The problem: the big stick co-packers run extrusion lines optimized for cost, and the waiting lists at the good small ones run long. That’s the gap we fill.
We’re a five-generation butcher shop with a real smokehouse. When we co-pack your sticks, they’re made the way ours are — because they’re made on the same equipment, by the same hands.
2. What your sticks can be.
- Meat blocks — beef, pork, and beef-pork blends; whole-muscle meat, never mechanically separated protein.
- Casings — natural sheep casings, for the snap real snack sticks are supposed to have.
- Flavor systems — from classic and pepper to specialty runs, including sticks with real cheese curds.
- Smoke — real hardwood smoke in the smokehouse.
- Formats — refrigerated fresh-smoked sticks, or shelf-stable formats, including 2 oz sticks in counter caddies and shippers built for c-store sets.
- Packaging — vacuum-sealed retail packs, bulk, and display-ready shipper programs under your label.
3. Inquiry to first run.
- Discovery call — your product, volume, and timeline; our honest read on fit.
- Recipe — yours, developed together, or matched from our existing stick line.
- 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 the format itself? Read the snack stick guide.
4. Who this is (and isn’t) for.
Right fit: snack brands built on real ingredients, D2C startups scaling past their first kitchen, retailers who want a store-brand stick with an actual story, and c-store programs that need shelf-stable sticks in display-ready shippers.
Wrong fit: brands chasing the absolute lowest cost-per-stick, products built on mechanically separated meat, or 100,000+ unit runs on day one. We’re a real smokehouse, not a 50-million-pound extrusion plant — that’s the whole point.
Jerky
Whole-muscle beef, hand-trimmed, marinated, and hardwood-smoked under your label.
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 or refrigerated snack sticks?
Both. Our own branded line runs refrigerated and fresh-smoked; for private-label programs we also produce shelf-stable stick formats — including 2 oz sticks packed in counter caddies and shippers for c-store and distributor programs.
What is your minimum order for snack stick co-packing?
We work on a pilot-run model: a small production batch first for sampling, packaging approval, and shelf-life testing, then a production agreement with MOQs, pricing, and lead times set before the first commercial run. Tell us your target volume on the discovery call and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.
Can you develop the recipe, or do I need my own?
Either. Co-pack: we run your recipe or develop one together. Private label: pick from our existing stick recipes (or modest variants) and get to market faster because product development is already done.
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.
What casings do you use?
Natural sheep casings — the casing that gives a real snack stick its snap. We do not run extruded, casingless protein tubes.
Do you use real wood smoke or liquid smoke?
Real wood smoke. Sticks are smoked over hardwood in the smokehouse, the same way our own branded line is made.
Same smokehouse, your label.
Whether your stick runs refrigerated or shelf-stable, on your recipe or ours, it comes off the same equipment and out of the same smokehouse as the sticks that carry our own name.
More formats: Jerky co-packing · Hot dog co-packing · All co-packing · Product specs
Let’s talk
Let’s talk about your stick.
Call (218) 586-2149 or submit a co-pack inquiry. We’ll get back within 1–2 business days.