Hot honey has been one of 2025's hottest flavor trends. While sweet and spicy, or "swicy," flavors have been dominating the marketplace, hot honey is capturing particularly strong attention. The Mike's Hot Honey brand has partnered with multiple meat and snack companies over the past year, including KFC, Tillamook Country Smoker, Red Robin, 7-Eleven, California Pizza Kitchen, Cinemark and Dunkin, leveraging the momentum of swicy flavors.

Smithfield Foods is bringing hot honey to the pork category in a new and unexpected way by partnering with Mike's Hot Honey to launch Smithfield Mike's Hot Honey Bacon. To explore the inspiration for and development process behind this innovation, The National Provisioner spoke with Marianne Radley, managing director of marketing for Smithfield Foods.

What market insights or consumer trends inspired the creation of Smithfield Mike’s Hot Honey Bacon?

Marianne Radley: At Smithfield, we’re always looking for ways to meet consumers where their taste buds are headed. One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in recent years is the rise of "swicy" — a sweet-meets-spicy flavor that is dominating social feeds, restaurant menus and grocery shelves alike.

Pairing our signature, hickory-smoked bacon with Mike’s Hot Honey’s Sweet Heat allowed us to tap directly into that craving for a bolder flavor experience while staying true to what people already love about Smithfield bacon.

How did the partnership with Mike’s Hot Honey come about, and what made it right fit for this product?

Marianne Radley: Mike’s Hot Honey is known for authentic flavor and craftsmanship — the same qualities that define Smithfield. When we saw how their sweet heat was showing up across pizza, wings and other unexpected food, it felt like a natural flavor extension to bring to our bacon.

We believe that the right flavor experience can completely transform everyday moments into flavor-packed occasions, and this allowed us to create something both craveworthy and innovative. Bacon already has incredible household penetration, but by partnering with Mike’s Hot Honey, we are taking bacon beyond the breakfast plate to really amp up any meal or snack throughout the day.

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What innovations in flavor, formulation or production were key to developing this product?

Marianne Radley: We wanted the swicy experience to feel balanced — not overpowering, but undeniably there, so we worked closely with the Mike’s Hot Honey team to ensure the honey-infused flavor complemented our signature smokiness in the right way. The result is a balance of smoky and sweet, with a kick of heat.

What future opportunities or flavor developments is Smithfield exploring in this space?

Marianne Radley: Flavor continues to be one of the most powerful growth drivers in the protein category, and we’re just getting started. While I can’t share anything specific yet, our goal is to keep evolving alongside consumer tastes while maintaining the quality and authenticity that define Smithfield.

Are there any additional insights that you would like to share with The National Provisioner audience about the Smithfield Mike’s Hot Honey Bacon Innovation, or Smithfield in general?

Marianne Radley: This launch exemplifies what our We Speak Pork campaign is all about — celebrating pork’s flavor, versatility and ability to surprise consumers with something new. With Smithfield Mike’s Hot Honey Bacon, we set out to bring an unexpected twist to a beloved classic, tapping into the swicy flavor trend in a way that feels both bold and familiar.

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To bring the excitement to life, we’ve rolled out a robust, 360-degree marketing campaign spanning digital, social, streaming and in-store platforms, plus a major Times Square takeover earlier in October. Two new creative spots, voiced by Emmy Award–winning comedian Ben Schwartz, are already driving great engagement and helping us show how Smithfield continues to push the category forward, infusing humor, heat and heart into every slice of bacon we make.