Old Wisconsin Sausage

What Old Wisconsin Sausage does

Old Wisconsin Sausage, Inc. is a Wisconsin-based, privately held meat-snack manufacturer founded in 1947 (company timeline also references 1951) and headquartered in Sheboygan, WI. The company produces a portfolio of hardwood-smoked sausage products — Snack Bites, Snack Sticks, Smoke Stacks, Twisted Snack Sticks, Yumbo, Summer Sausage, and Hand-Tied Summer Sausage — alongside the Natural Cut sub-brand featuring all-natural ingredients without MSG, nitrates, binders, fillers, extenders, or preservatives. Its core production technology is slow smoking over real hardwood fires, a process the company markets as a signature craft differentiator.

The company sells primarily through U.S. retail grocery channels in deli, meat, and snack meat sections, with additional distribution through Amazon and parent-affiliated foodservice partners. Old Wisconsin has been a subsidiary of Carl Buddig & Company — a family-owned, multi-brand meat processor headquartered in Homewood, IL — for the entirety of its 75+ year history. Other Carl Buddig brands include Buddig, Kingsford BBQ, and Pitmaster's Pride, providing shared procurement, manufacturing scale, and distribution leverage.

Old Wisconsin's go-to-market relies on broad-based consumer marketing: social media (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Pinterest), content/recipe marketing, the Smokehouse Club email loyalty program, and the traveling Taste Tour mobile-smokehouse experiential activation. The brand targets general retail consumers, outdoor enthusiasts, and Wisconsin heritage buyers seeking portable, high-protein, all-natural snack options. Walmart is the only named retail partner, and the company files supply-chain transparency disclosures under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act.

Name

Old Wisconsin Sausage

Legal name

Old Wisconsin Sausage, Inc.

Website

https://oldwisconsin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Old Wisconsin Sausage is a privately held Wisconsin meat-snack manufacturer (subsidiary of Carl Buddig & Company) producing hardwood-smoked sausage products — Snack Sticks, Snack Bites, Summer Sausage, and the Natural Cut line — sold through U.S. retail grocery and Amazon to general consumers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Packaged Sausage and Meat Snacks

NAICS

Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116)

SIC

Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Sausage Manufacturing (Fresh, Cooked, Fermented, Emulsified) (AFANAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Jerky & Meat Snacks (CRADABAK), Shelf-Stable Processed Meats (Canned, Retort Pouches, Jerky/Meat Snacks) (AFANAEAJ)

Keywords

• Hardwood smoked sausage
• Meat snack products
• Summer sausage
• Snack sticks
• Natural cut meats

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheboygan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Grocery Sales: Old Wisconsin products are sold through retail grocery store deli, meat, and snack meat sections, representing the primary revenue channel.
2. E-commerce Sales: Products are available through Amazon and the company's own website store locator, capturing online consumers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Old Wisconsin Sausage manufactures and sells hardwood-smoked sausage and meat snack products under its own brand, including Snack Bites, Snack Sticks, Smoke Stacks, Twisted Snack Sticks, Yumbo, Summer Sausage, Hand-Tied Summer Sausage, and Snack Slices. The company also offers a Natural Cut sub-brand of all-natural products (100% natural ingredients, no MSG, nitrates, binders, fillers, extenders, or preservatives). Products are sold through U.S. retail grocery channels and via Amazon for consumer on-the-go and at-home consumption.

Product overview

Old Wisconsin Sausage offers a diverse portfolio of hardwood-smoked sausage and meat snack products. The core offerings include Snack Bites, Snack Sticks, Smoke Stacks (sausage with cheese), Twisted Snack Sticks, Yumbo, and Snack Slices in the snacks category, along with Summer Sausage and Hand-Tied Summer Sausage. The portfolio also includes the Natural Cut sub-brand featuring all-natural products made with 100% natural ingredients without artificial additives. All products are hardwood smoked and designed for on-the-go consumption or home enjoyment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Natural Cut: All-natural product line containing 100% natural ingredients with no MSG, nitrates, binders, fillers, extenders or preservatives.

Products and services

• Snack Bites Bite-size sausage snacks packaged in convenient, resealable bags, available in Original, Turkey, Beef, Pepperoni, Honey Brown Sugar Turkey, and Hot & Spicy varieties. Designed for on-the-go, portable consumption by retail grocery consumers.
• Snack Sticks Individually wrapped sausage snack sticks in Original, Turkey, Beef, Pepperoni, Honey Brown Sugar Turkey, and Hot & Spicy varieties, targeted at consumers seeking portable, high-protein snack options.
• Smoke Stacks Smoked sausage combined with creamy cheese in a snack format, available in Beef & Cheddar Cheese, Beef & Jalapeño Cheese, Turkey & Cheddar Cheese, Bourbon & Bacon, and Ham & Sharp Cheddar varieties. Targeted at consumers looking for combined meat-and-cheese snack options.
• Twisted Snack Sticks Tender, smoked snack sticks in a twisted format with a blend of meats and spices, available in Original, Turkey, Beef, Honey, and Hot & Spicy varieties.
• Yumbo Large individually wrapped smoked sausage snacks with 14 grams of protein per serving, available in Original, Turkey, Hot & Spicy, and Honey Brown Sugar Turkey varieties. Designed for portable, high-protein consumption.
• Summer Sausage Carefully spiced and precisely aged sausage slices, available in Original, Beef, Beef Garlic, and Turkey varieties. Targeted at consumers serving summer sausage at home gatherings or as charcuterie/snack board offerings.
• Hand-Tied Summer Sausage Premium hand-tied, hardwood smoked summer sausage hung to age, available in Original, Beef, Original Garlic, and Beef Garlic varieties. Positioned as a higher-end offering for entertaining and gifting occasions.
• Snack Slices Ready-to-eat seasoned sausage slices designed for snack spreads and charcuterie boards, currently available in Beef variety.
• Natural Snack Sticks (Natural Cut sub-brand) All-natural snack sticks under the Natural Cut sub-brand, made with 100% natural ingredients and no MSG, nitrates, binders, fillers, extenders, or preservatives. Available in Beef, Turkey, and Original varieties for consumers seeking clean-label sausage snack options.
• 3 Pack Meat and Cheese (Natural Cut sub-brand) Classic flavor combinations of meat and cheese under the Natural Cut sub-brand, packaged in three servings, available in Beef & Cheddar and Turkey & Colby Jack varieties. Targeted at consumers seeking clean-label combined meat-and-cheese snack packs.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered featured partner.

• Hickory Farmsfeatured partnerOthersHickory Farms is listed as a featured partner in Carl Buddig and Company's foodservice operations, indicating a distribution/retail partnership relationship.
• Walmartfeatured partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWalmart is listed as a featured partner, indicating retail distribution of Old Wisconsin and Carl Buddig products.
• Saputofeatured partnerOthersSaputo is listed as a featured partner in the foodservice division of Carl Buddig and Company.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jack Link's: Jack Link's is the leading US meat snack (jerky and meat sticks) brand with overlapping SKUs in beef sticks, turkey sticks, and portable protein formats, directly competing with Old Wisconsin's Snack Bites, Snack Sticks, and Yumbo at mass grocery and convenience.
• Slim Jim (Conagra Brands): Slim Jim is a direct competitor in the meat snack stick category sold through grocery, club, and convenience channels, targeting the same portable high-protein snacking occasion as Old Wisconsin's Snack Sticks and Snack Bites.
• Johnsonville Sausage: Johnsonville is a leading US sausage brand with overlapping smoked sausage, summer sausage, and snack-stick product lines sold through retail grocery; comparable craft/heritage positioning and category presence to Old Wisconsin.
• Eckrich (Smithfield Foods / WH Group): Eckrich manufactures smoked sausages, summer sausage, and meat snacks distributed through mass grocery, directly competing with Old Wisconsin in sausages and cheese-and-meat snack combinations like Smoke Stacks.
• Hillshire Farm (Tyson Foods): Hillshire Farm produces smoked sausage, summer sausage, and snack-format meat products sold through grocery deli and packaged meat aisles, overlapping with Old Wisconsin across summer sausage and smoked snack sticks.
• Klement's Sausage: Klement's is a Wisconsin-based craft sausage and snack stick brand sold through grocery and foodservice, directly comparable to Old Wisconsin's heritage smoked sausage and summer sausage offerings.
• Hickory Farms: Hickory Farms is a featured partner within Carl Buddig's foodservice operations and a long-standing rival in summer sausage and charcuterie-style meat gifts, directly overlapping with Old Wisconsin's summer sausage and hand-tied sausage SKUs.

Broad incumbents

• Hormel Foods: Hormel is a broad incumbent in meat and protein snacks, including pepperoni and snack-format meat sticks that overlap with Old Wisconsin's Snack Bites and Snack Sticks, though it operates across many categories beyond sausage.

Emerging players

• Chomps: Chomps is a fast-growing clean-label beef and turkey stick brand focused on natural ingredients and portability, competing directly with Old Wisconsin's Natural Cut line in the natural meat snack segment.
• Country Archer Provisions: Country Archer is a direct-to-consumer and retail meat snack brand emphasizing natural ingredients and protein, overlapping with Old Wisconsin's clean-label Natural Cut sub-brand and snack stick portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oldwisconsin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/discoveroldwisconsin
• Facebookfacebook.com/OldWisconsin
• Instagraminstagram.com/oldwisconsin
• Pinterestpinterest.com/oldwisconsin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Old Wisconsin Sausage