Our History

Jack Link’sBeef Jerky began with treasured family recipes passed from generation to generation, transforming a small North Woods business into one of the fastest-growing meat snack manufacturers in the world.
 
From the first day Chris staked his claim in Minong, Wis., a new American tradition was born. Chris Link’s sausages and smoked meats became legendary among the lumberjacks and pioneer farmers of Wisconsin’s great North Woods.
 
A few generations later Jack was born. An entrepreneur from an early age, Jack followed his dad everywhere, learning all about cattle, the meat business and how to make the best meat products possible. Jack honored his heritage and carved out a healthy business for his own family by supplying top-quality beef to stores and restaurants throughout the Northland.
 
Over the years, as consumer demand for convenient, high-quality snack foods increased, so did the company’s product offerings. Today Jack Link’s is the fastest-growing meat snack manufacturer in the world, and sells more than 100 different meat snack products in more than 40 countries.
 
More than a century has passed, but the Link family principles and traditions remain the same: hard work, integrity and a commitment to earn consumer respect by delivering the best-tasting meat snacks in the world. 

A Word From Jack...

So, how did a guy from Minong, Wisconsin start making beef jerky? Well, it came to me one day when my boys and I were headed out for an afternoon hunt. We stopped at a local store and bought some jerky out of the glass jar on the counter. Turned out to be about as tough as our hunting boots.
 
The boys and I went home and found my great-grandfather's original recipes. The paper was yellowed, but the recipes were as good as the day they were written. We decided to try our hand at making jerky the genuine, authentic way. It turned out even better than we could have hoped for.
 
It didn't take long for us to decide to share our jerky with the rest of the folks in the area. We started selling our Jack Link's Jerky out of the back of my truck from one mom-and-pop store to the next. Pretty soon, it was nearly impossible to keep up. Folks just couldn't get enough of our jerky.
 
Years later, here we are still making jerky -- now, it just happens to be for folks all around the world.  Even with all the changes over the years, the important things have stayed the same. We're still making jerky from our own time-tested recipes - the kind of jerky my father, grandfather and great-grandfather would be proud to claim as their own.

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