This year was a busy one for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a businessman. The NASCAR icon launched two new brands in June with his longtime friend, Blake Koch. The first one, Jerky Boys, marks Junior’s venture into the gourmet food industry, while the second, Filter Time, focuses on residential air filters.
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In a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the NASCAR icon provided an update on how those businesses are progressing.
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.
When Dale Jr. announced the venture earlier this year, fans expressed shock at how high the pricing was. Further increasing it would be bad for business, and Junior knows it. On the positive side, however, everyone who has tried the jerky has given rave reviews about it.
“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,” Junior said.
“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,” he added.
With the favorable reviews and a reduced price, Jerky Boys ought to become a successful business soon. To speed up the process, Dale Jr. has undertaken various initiatives.
For instance, Junior 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. added that Filter Time has been performing impeccably as well. So, what’s next?
“I bought a building right next to Junior Motorsports. 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,” said Junior.
“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,” he added.
That’s crazy confidence indeed. Hopefully, this will end up being yet another win for him.
