Fresh Take: Jerky’s Rising Star Is On A Grass-Fed Mission

I don’t hop into a car to sit in three hours of Los Angeles traffic for just any company. But earlier this year I was thrilled to finally visit the 72,000-square-foot factory in San Bernardino where Country Archer makes its jerky. I’ve been following the journey of Country Archer’s founder Eugene Kang since 2018, when he nabbed a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 food and drink list. He and his meat snacks business have come a long way since then.

Check out my feature on Kang, who has been a student of the food industry since his childhood when he worked at his family’s gas stations. It’s one of my new favorite stories, and I hope you’ll give it a read.

You might be wondering why I haven’t been in your inbox the past few weeks. It’s not like me or this newsletter to miss Earth Day—I hope you took some time to reflect on how you can make more sustainable choices around food—and I wanted to update you on my whereabouts. I’ve been out healing after an injury, and after next Friday’s edition, I’ll be taking another week off. But don’t worry, I’ll see you in June with some really great stories on the future of food!

— Chloe Sorvino, Staff Writer

Order my book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, out now from Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books.

This is Forbes’ Fresh Take newsletter, which every Friday brings you the latest on the big ideas changing the future of food. Want to get it in your inbox every week? Sign up here.

What’s Fresh

How A Bold 35-Year-Old CEO Fired Up A $100 Million Jerky Brand

Country Archer’s Eugene Kang grew up stocking shelves at his parents’ gas station convenience stores. Now he’s producing one of the fastest-growing better-for-you snack foods in America.

Foxtrot’s Abrupt Closure Leaves Vendors In The Lurch

The Chicago-based retailer announced the closure of all stores in the Chicago, Texas, and Washington, D.C. markets after filing for bankruptcy.

Walmart’s Private Label Blitz: A New Era In The Private Label Showdown

Distributors must skillfully confront the hurdles presented by the surge of Walmart’s private labels and the pervasive impact of specialty brands on consumer preferences.

Why A James Beard-Awarded Brewmaster Wants The Future Of Beer To Be An Ancient Grain

As part of the celebration of his 30th anniversary with Brooklyn Brewery, Garrett Oliver has launched “Brewing For Impact,” a global collaboration with breweries to showcase fonio, an ancient West African grain.

Thanks for reading the 110th edition of Forbes Fresh Take! Let me know what you think. Subscribe to Forbes Fresh Take here.

Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food and agriculture as a staff writer on the enterprise team at Forbes. Her book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, published on December 6, 2022, with Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. Her nearly nine years of reporting at Forbes has brought her to In-N-Out Burger’s secret test kitchen, drought-ridden farms in California’s Central Valley, burnt-out national forests logged by a timber billionaire, a century-old slaughterhouse in Omaha and even a chocolate croissant factory designed like a medieval castle in northern France.