MEATSNACKS was set up in 2015. Known for its beef jerky, the firm has now created a salmon jerky to appeal to a new market. The product is made from Atlantic Scottish salmon at a new factory in Moray, with the help of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Unable to sell its beef jerky in North America and Asia due to the BSE crisis which bans exports of the meat, the company has plans to export its salmon all over Europe and Asia.
Name: Jennifer Macdonald-Nethercott
Age: 40
Position: Marketing manager
WHAT’S THE BUSINESS CALLED?
Meatsnacks
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Grantown-on-Spey, Moray
WHY DID THE COMPANY DECIDE TO MAKE SALMON JERKY?
THE company has been going for years and we were looking for ways to innovate the market. Salmon jerky has been sold in North America so we knew it was possible to create it as a product. Our beef jerky product has a male-dominated market. It is a high protein snack and fills people up. It is popular with both healthy men who go to the gym and also men who will just eat it at home. Women are eating the beef jerky too but salmon is a more female-centric market.
Crucially, it also gives us the opportunity to export – we can’t export beef jerky to north America or Asia because of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy crisis which bans exporting beef. Our salmon will be exported to North America, Canada and Hong Kong (we hope this will get us into the Chinese market). There is demand for Scottish salmon in those countries so it’s a good opportunity for us.
WERE THERE ANY CHALLENGES IN MAKING IT?
THE initial challenge was finding a facility to produce the salmon jerky. We had to get a separate facility in Grantown-on-Spey to make it. We couldn’t produce it in our beef factory because fish is an allergen. After we sorted out the premises we went about sourcing our raw material. It seemed fitting to use Atlantic Scottish salmon considering we were using a former Scottish salmon smokehouse.
Provenance is really important, especially in the export market. We have made it clear that the product is from Scotland by saying it is Speyside salmon jerky and including a saltire on the packaging.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
OUR target market is primarily women. Salmon is more accessible than beef jerky and a lot of women are more likely to eat fish over red meat. It is a light meat– we do sea salt and black pepper flavour, teriyaki and lemon and dill. It is high in protein, contains omega 3 and is gluten free as well. It is relatively low in calories compared to snacks such as crisps or popcorn.
People are initially surprised when they taste it. We have mass education to do around jerky and what it is. People are surprised it is not hard and dry, which is the taste traditionally associated with jerky.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT TO COMPETING BUSINESSES?
WE have a very strong meat background in the people who run the business. The Jerky Group had been running since 1998 before it became Meatsnacks in 2015. They have years of experience in meat production.
The best quality goes into the product and it is set up as an alternative snack and we want to bring more general consumers over to meat snacks.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
THERE is still an entrepreneurial spirit within the company. We can react to new opportunities and are willing to invest in things like a new factory to make salmon jerky.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS TIME?
WE want to have retained the market-leading position in the UK by creating new products. We want to expand the innovation team which allowed us to make salmon jerky to increase the export side of the business. This year we are building on our exports to North America and Canada but in the next 10 years China will be another big area for us to focus on. We have got a new distributor in France right now and we are also working with Scandinavian countries. The main thing is focusing on new flavours and products. The next thing to look at is packaging which is a safety issue for us because we need to keep the product fresh but that doesn’t mean we can’t focus on more sustainable packaging.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here