2025 was a busy year for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a businessman. The NASCAR icon launched two new brands in June with his longtime friend Blake Koch. The first, Jerky Boys, marks a venture into the gourmet food industry. The second, Filter Time, focuses on residential air filters. In a recent episode of the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, he provided an update on how those businesses are progressing.
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Jerky Boys sells a homemade beef jerky recipe that was originally crafted by Koch’s grandfather. For now, it comes in just one flavor. The company is still small and does not have a major production setup, so introducing additional flavors would drive up costs, and that is not a move they want to make just yet.
Even when Dale Jr. announced the venture, fans expressed shock over how high the pricing was. Further increasing it would be bad for business, and he knows it. On the positive side, however, everyone who has tried the jerky has given rave reviews about it.
Junior quipped, “If I give you the bag, I know you’re going to love it. No one has ever eaten the jerky and said, ‘It’s okay.’ Everyone who’s eaten it says, ‘It’s the best jerky I’ve ever had.’ We have a very regular flavor. We’re a small company, and it’s really expensive for us to make our jerky because we don’t have massive production. We don’t have a lot of dehydrators.
“We don’t have a lot of employees. But as demand goes up and we can make more, the price goes way down. We already have a plan. We already know where we can get the price down.”
With the favorable reviews and a reduced price point, Jerky Boys ought to become a successful business soon enough. To fasten the process, Dale Jr. has been undertaking various initiatives. For instance, he has currently shipped the product to a group of celebrities, hoping to get their reviews. He has also focused on customer feedback and spoken to the brand’s top customers on the phone.
Earnhardt Jr. went on to add that Filter Time has been performing impeccably as well. So, what’s next? “I bought a building right next to Junior Motorsports,” he said. “So, I’m gonna move Jerky Boys into that building so that Blake and Christian and everybody, we can all be here to help sort of continue to make the next few moves. I believe in it, man, because I believe it’s truly the best jerky I’ve ever eaten.”
“And so, if it wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have wanted to buy into the company. I tried it and I said that this shit’s gonna win.” That’s crazy confidence to have. Hopefully, this will end up being yet another win for him.
