Sizzling Sausage Stats
Dinner sausage consumption is fairly uniform throughout various income levels, while lower income families consume the most breakfast sausage.
Larger families eat the most breakfast and dinner sausage, as do younger families, with sausage consumption leveling off considerably for senior citizens.
Residents of the Deep South consume the most dinner sausage, followed by the Northeast.
Sausage consumption also varies by season. Dinner sausage sales reportedly peak during the summer months, with dollar sales accounting for nearly one-third of annual sales. Breakfast sausage sales peak during holiday months from November through January
Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
Top 10 U.S. Sausage-Eating LOCATIONS
1. Los Angeles, CA
2. New York, NY
3. San Antonio/Corpus Christie, TX
4. Houston, TX
5. Chicago, IL
6. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
7. New Orleans, LA
8. Baltimore/Washington, DC
9. San Francisco/Oakland, CA
10. South Carolina (includes all cities in state)
Ranking based on dollar sales for the latest 52 weeks ending October 3, 2004
Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council

The NUMBERS
Dinner Sausage Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category $1,528,987,000 4.4 $492,686,800 0.5
Hillshire Farm rfg dinner sausage 284,962,700 -12.8 96,788,070 -12.9
Johnsonville rfg dinner sausage 195,403,500 19.2 48,240,890 17.1
Private label rfg dinner sausage 115,659,500 0.4 40,103,250 -7.2
Eckrich rfg dinner sausage 103,296,700 3.1 36,894,150 -1.8
Bryan rfg dinner sausage 29,029,280 -8.2 10,164,770 -6.6
Total U.S.: Supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL
Frozen Sausage Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category $233,602,700 12.2 119,233,100 7.9
Swift Premium Brown ‘N Serve fz sausage 93,619,670 8.8 65,930,750 8.7
Johnsonville fz sausage 57,861,850 27.3 15,084,630 25.3
Private label fz sausage 21,591,570 4.0 9,169,720 -3.8
Jones Golden Brown fz sausage 13,290,010 -3.0 7,243,016 -8.1
Jones fz sausage 10,379,230 -3.4 3,333,531 -5.5
Total U.S.: Supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL
BREAKFAST SAUSAGE/HAM Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category $887,520,400 2.3 341,716,200 -5.1
Jimmy Dean rfg. breakfast sausage/ham 180,188,800 -7.7 61,434,400 -15.5
Bob Evans rfg. breakfast sausage/ham 121,970,700 3.8 35,919,650 -0.7
Private label rfg. breakfast sausage/ham 63,237,360 8.5 28,667,650 -0.8
Johnsonville rfg. breakfast sausage/ham 49,320,870 18.6 16,028,050 15.5
Jimmy Dean Fresh Taste Fast rfg bkfst. sge./ham 44,943,990 4.9 14,520,980 -7.0
Total U.S.: Supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL
Refrigerated Frankfurters Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category 1,646,962,000 -0.0 818,296,800 -3.1
Oscar Mayer rfg frankfurters 306,841,400 -0.1 119,086,800 0.1
Ball Park rfg frankfurters 256,183,500 -4.4 94,756,270 -8.3
Bar-S rfg frankfurters 118,079,400 5.6 109,665,600 1.2
Private label rfg frankfurters 98,336,660 -3.8 64,611,190 -8.8
Hebrew National rfg frankfurters 84,039,220 9.4 22,465,550 3.9
Total U.S.: Supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL
Frozen Frankfurters Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category 620,200 29.0 188,509 18.1
Shelton fz frankfurters 447,079 2.1 150,529 -3.4
Roger Wood fz frankfurters 114,630 -- 29,657 --
Cloverdale fz frankfurters 49,488 36.7 4,708 95.3
Orientex fz frankfurters 8,140 -- 3,442 --
Star-B Ranch fz frankfurters 603 -88.4 123 -87.6
Total U.S.: Supermarkets Only
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL
Dried Meatsnacks Top Five Brands
Latest 52 Weeks Ending December 26, 2004
Brand Sales (dollars) Dollar Sales% Change Yr Ago Unit Sales Unit Sales% Change Yr Ago
Total category 307,999,200 11.0 107,039,600 5.5
Oh Boy! Oberto dried meatsnacks 69,915,730 11.2 14,780,590 5.4
Slim Jim dried meatsnacks 49,521,830 8.2 31,977,680 4.6
Jack Link’s dried meatsnacks 48,299,700 6.2 14,699,430 6.4
Bridgford dried meatsnacks 24,053,670 5.3 5,426,383 1.2
Pemmican dried meatsnacks 23,345,080 -19.5 4,998,656 -21.3
Total U.S.: Supermarkets Only
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago IL