Last updated on September 19th, 2019
Huron, South Dakota-based protein manufacturer Dakota Provisions has launched its first consumer turkey products brand, Dakota 44.
Dakota 44 offers a variety of fresh turkey products in on-trend flavor profiles that come in several easy-meal and snacking forms. These products are driven by three core consumer demands: bolder flavors, greater ease and more transparency.
As 21 percent of consumers report eating more turkey this year than last (Mintel Poultry Report, 2018), they are also desiring new flavors and forms. Dakota 44 offers products like:
Protein-filled turkey breast snack bites- Salad-enhancing toppers
- Shaved turkey breast
- Sliced whole muscle deli meats
- Ready-to-cook meatballs
- Butcher patties
- Turkey bacon
- Versatile ground turkey
- Traditional whole turkey
Protein-filled turkey breast snack bitesBold flavor profiles include desirable tastes foodies are craving, like maple bacon, bacon ranch sriracha, Szechuan, BBQ and smoky poblano.
“We believe in your right to have crazy delicious food wherever and whenever you feel like it,” says Renee Robertson, senior marketing manager for Dakota 44. “And because we don’t believe in bland or boring eats, we’ve developed a brand with flavors and forms consumers desire, but haven’t found in their grocery stores yet.”
Family farm origins with transparent, sustainable practices
In an age when 68 percent of consumers want to know where their poultry comes from and 62 percent want to know how it was raised (Mintel Poultry Report, 2018), Dakota 44 is passionate about providing turkeys raised on farms that are certified by Global Animal Partnership (GAP) and fed a 100 percent vegetarian diet with no antibiotics ever. In fact, the turkeys follow a diet of grains grown on the same farms they are raised on.
It starts with a mission to be fully transparent and traceable, so consumers can feel good about knowing where their food comes from. The brand’s roots are in South Dakota, having started with a partnership among 44 family farms within the Hutterite community, whose compassion in taking great care of poultry has carried over into the brand.
Further, the family farms producing products hitting the market soon work diligently to follow sustainable practices. Consumers can see this manifest itself through a Farm Finder feature on the website, where they can read up on the farm their turkey product came from.
“We are proud of what we put into our products and know exactly where every turkey comes from, and it’s important for us to share that with our consumers,” says Ken Rutledge, president and CEO of Dakota Provisions. “We’re committed to crafting better food for the better good, and that starts with having high standards when it comes to what our turkeys eat, how they’re treated and the manner in which they’re raised.”
The Dakota 44 sales representatives are actively meeting with retailers now to get Dakota 44 products on shelves soon.
