The meat snack category has continued to expand, not only with new flavors but also with new formats. One of the latest evolutions has introduced a new competitor to the traditional pork rind. Holy Snacks has introduced Holy Cow, a line of beef rinds that finds a new use for a commodity that would normally go to waste.
“The correct term for it is upcycling – [we’re] taking waste and turning it into a snack,” says Javon Bangs, co-founder of Holy Snacks. “Beef consumption in the U.S. is the highest it’s been in a decade, but as the demand for leather is plummeting for various reasons, mostly because to cheaper synthetic alternatives, 100-pound cowhides are piling up all over the country. They were once destined for leather tanners, and now the farmers can’t find buyers for them, so they either bury them or ship them off to the landfill.”