dave lefkow
The birth of Bacon Salt is one mixed with chance, luck, and creativity. The first round of financing ($5,000) came from Dave’s son’s win on America’s Funniest Home Videos®. With financing secured, a larger question loomed: How does one make everything taste like bacon? After many failed attempts at combining table salt and bacon drippings, Dave and Justin turned to Food Science for their answer. With their new seasoning salt, their next challenge was to find people to actually buy their product. Dave tapped into MySpace, marketing to thousands of users who had “Bacon” in their profile. They also utilized Facebook and viral videos to promote the product. Bacon Salt quickly made a name for itself, one part novelty and one part healthy alternative. In fact, Bacon Salt is vegan friendly. Since the company’s launch, J&D’s products have been featured on Oprah, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and countless websites. To launch their second product, Baconnaise, they staged a “Bacon vs. Mayonnaise” wrestling match in the basement of a Seattle bar. They recently partnered with Jones Soda to produce Bacon Soda. Today, many of the nation’s largest grocery chains, including Kroger and Walmart, carry Bacon Salt and Baconnaise. On their website, you can find other niche products, such as Bacon Ranch, Bacon Gravy, Bacon Lip Balm, and Bacon Pop [microwave popcorn]. Dave currently lives in Issaquah, WA with his wife, son and daughter.
Dave Lefkow, Iowa ’95 (right), set out with his co-worker Justin Esch to answer that question. Co-owners of J&D Foods, these IT consultants settled in Seattle to build a company around America’s most beloved meat: bacon. 6 Delta Chi | Quarterly | Spring/Summer 2011
