Clean-label meat snacks are on the rise, and Chomps’ expansion into the C-store channel exemplifies this ongoing trend. To get the inside scoop on Chomps’ expansion and brand strategies, The National Provisioner sat down with the brand’s head of sales, Matt Meloy.

Founders Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali wanted to keep eating meat snacks as adults, but they wanted a cleaner, healthier option for themselves and their families. This led the two friends to embark on a journey to develop the Chomps brand.

Chomps has had a clear mission since its founding: create an elevated version of a protein snack, enabling a healthier snacking experience for consumers. Meloy said, “We are a really healthy protein-based snack that just happens to also be meat-forward.”

Chomps meat sticks

The Chomps brand is focused on offering high-quality beef, turkey, and venison snacks for every occasion. To craft a healthy, wholesome protein-snacking experience for consumers, Chomps prioritizes environmental sustainability, simple ingredients, and animal welfare. Additionally, the brand uses clear collagen casings for its meat sticks, ensuring product transparency for its customers. “Transparency is in and around everything we do,” Meloy said. “We want you to see exactly what you’re eating.”

When Chomps was first founded, the brand focused on selling directly to consumers. “The fun part of consumers buying directly from you online is they’ll talk to you,” Meloy said. “They’ll tell you exactly what they like about it, they’ll tell you exactly how they’re feeling about it, they’ll tell you who they are and what they’re using the product for.”

By starting as a direct-to-consumer meat snack business, Chomps was able to learn all about its consumer, prompting the brand’s move into retail in 2016. At each step of its growth, Chomps has ensured its partners are willing to provide consumer feedback. This allows Chomps to continually understand its consumer, enabling the brand to build and maintain brand loyalty.

“When we look for launch partners at any channel, we’re really looking for that partnership to understand the feedback loop,” Meloy said. “Because what works in natural, what works in club may not actually work in every channel.”

Now, after moving into various channels, the brand is expanding into convenience stores nationwide, selling products in over 1,600 C-stores. This growth strategy has benefited Chomps’ repeat rate, which sits at over 40%.

Wellness is a priority for Chomps in everything the brand does, from product sourcing and production, all the way to waste management and product disposal. For product sourcing, Chomps only utilizes protein from farmers who practice regenerative agricultural techniques, including rotational grazing.

Though Chomps does a lot of its sourcing from the southern coast of Australia and Tasmania, Meloy is optimistic that regenerative agriculture practices will become more common in the U.S. “The fun part is, we can do that with consumers … As consumer demand and sentiment starts driving for more and more of those healthy practices and regenerative practices, we can kind of change this space together,” he said.

Chomps also commits to environmental sustainability through a partnership with EcoCart. Launched in 2023, the partnership aims to make each Chomps order carbon neutral. Since the partnership’s launch, EcoCart has helped Chomps offset over 55,000 pounds of carbon emissions.

Chomps also minimizes waste by donating meat snacks that do not meet the brand’s cosmetic standards. This product donation program has enabled the brand to donate around 240,000 meat sticks per year. The program not only allows Chomps to minimize product waste, but also fights food insecurity and promotes accessibility of healthy food.