Who Is the King of Beef Jerky?

Who is called the king of beef jerky?

Jack Link, the founder of the namesake business, is the person commonly associated with the “king of beef jerky” label. It is an informal nickname tied to the company’s scale and visibility, not a formal title or a measure of product quality.

The business has roots in the Link family’s meatpacking operation. According to Forbes, the company began producing jerky in 1985 after the family business entered bankruptcy protection. The company’s own history says Jack Link started selling his namesake beef steaks to Wisconsin convenience stores that year, then expanded nationwide after buying a jerky packaging machine.

Today, the scale behind the nickname is substantial. Forbes estimates annual revenue of $2 billion, a $4 billion value for the family-owned business, and a 34% share of the U.S. meat-snacks market. It also reports about 800 million packages of meat snacks and other products sold each year. Those are reported company estimates, not a guarantee that every shopper will prefer the brand.

Is the king of beef jerky Jack Link or the Jack Link’s brand?

The phrase can mean either Jack Link the person or Jack Link’s the brand, so the distinction matters. Jack Link is the founder and chairman; Jack Link’s is a consumer brand within the broader, family-owned Link Snacks business.

The company’s official history identifies Jack Link as a real person and describes the business as family-owned and family-operated. CNBC’s reporting likewise distinguishes Link Snacks from the Jack Link’s brand: Link Snacks has a broader portfolio of meat snacks, not just products sold under that one label.

The brand’s rise also involved deliberate distribution and marketing. The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the company adopted consistent red packaging and a modern logo in 2005, helping strengthen brand recognition. Its first “Messin’ with Sasquatch” advertisement aired in 2006. CNBC reports that national sales grew 47% in the campaign’s first two years on national television, according to the company.

Advertising is only part of the business story. CNBC describes growth through Midwest competitor acquisitions, national retail distribution, product development, and the 2014 purchase of Unilever’s European meat-snacks business. The Star Tribune also documents a long-running family court dispute following Jay Link’s departure, drawing on company and family accounts. That reporting establishes a dispute; it should not be stretched into unsupported claims about the company’s products or market position.

More recently, Marketing Dive reported that Jack Link’s launched its “Feed Your Wild Side” campaign for Wild meat sticks in 2024, using TikTok, outdoor advertising, and college-town activations to appeal to Gen Z. The reported strategy shows how the company markets beyond traditional jerky and works to bring new customers into its wider snack portfolio.

What is the biggest beef jerky company in the United States?

Jack Link’s is reported as the largest meat-snacks company in the United States, while Link Snacks is the larger corporate business behind the brand. Forbes calls Jack Link’s the world’s largest jerky manufacturer; the Star Tribune describes it as the nation’s largest meat-snacks company. These descriptions refer to closely related but not identical measures: jerky manufacturing, meat-snack sales, and the full company portfolio.

Sales figures make that distinction clearer. CNBC reports that Nielsen IQ data put Link Snacks’ 2025 U.S. brick-and-mortar retail sales above $1.6 billion, while U.S. meat-snacks category sales exceeded $5 billion in that channel. The figure for Link Snacks covers the company’s sales, not solely the Jack Link’s brand or beef jerky. It also measures brick-and-mortar retail sales rather than every channel or the company’s revenue accounting.

These figures support calling the company a market leader, but they are not interchangeable. Revenue, retail sales, market share, and estimated business value each describe a different thing. The Star Tribune adds a practical measure of scale: it reports more than 4,000 employees and says about 30% of the company’s sales are international.

For shoppers, size is a useful shortlist filter, not a final verdict. Compare jerky by the factors that affect your own purchase: flavor, texture, ingredient list, and price per ounce. A salty, smoky, sweet profile may suit one person; a softer, more tender or more beef-forward bite may suit another. This guide to beef jerky by taste, value, and texture offers a practical comparison angle.

Blind tests show why “biggest” and “best tasting” should remain separate claims. Serious Eats editors tasted 14 jerky and biltong products in random order and chose Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky as the overall winner, praising its smoky, peppery, savory flavor and satisfying chew. Its listed ingredients include beef, water, sugar, sea salt, yeast extract, flavors, cultured celery extract, and citric acid.

The Kitchn reached a different result in a blind, randomized comparison of seven store-bought products by five tasters: Archer Country Grass-Fed Beef Jerky won overall, while Jack Link’s Original received an honorable mention. That panel emphasized its own preferences and considered products with prices ranging from $4 to $18 at the time of testing. Together, the tests show that the winner depends on the panel, the products compared, and the texture and flavor a buyer values.