Do you like the breakfast sausage at Kroger? Have you ever thought about who makes this well-known product?
Don’t look any further; we’re going to talk about Kroger’s sausage and the companies that made it. From small-scale meat processors to large-scale factories, we’ll look at the different people and businesses that make this popular breakfast food.
As one of the largest grocery chains in the US, Kroger offers an impressive selection of private label products. Among their expansive deli offerings are Kroger’s signature sausage links and patties. But who is the mystery meat maker behind Kroger’s house-brand sausages? Let’s find out the history and origin of Kroger’s sausages.
Walk into any Kroger’s extensive deli section nationwide and you’ll find an array of sausage options proudly bearing the grocer’s name They offer traditional pork breakfast links and patties, alongside an array of flavored sausages like maple, apple maple chicken, and spinach artichoke chicken Kroger also sells Italian sausage, bratwurst, smoked kielbasa, chorizo, and more. Their products cater to diverse tastes and meal occasions.
But unlike their dairy items made by regional suppliers all Kroger sausages are produced by just two national manufacturers. So who are the companies behind Kroger’s sausage empire?
Odom’s Tennessee Pride – A Longtime Kroger Partner
One of Kroger’s main sausage suppliers is Odom’s Tennessee Pride, a division of the swin company Cargill. Founded in the 1950s by the Odom family in Tennessee, the company grew into one of the nation’s largest breakfast sausage producers.
Cargill acquired Odom’s Tennessee Pride in 2015. Today, they crank out over 155 million pounds of sausage annually at their state-of-the-art facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. Products include pork and chicken breakfast sausage and ready-to-eat smoked sausages supplied to restaurants, delis, and retail chains across 45 states.
Odom’s Tennessee Pride has produced sausages for Kroger since 2002. Kroger even invested $3 million to help upgrade Odom’s factory in 2012 to increase production capacity and efficiency. Their close working relationship makes Odom’s an ideal choice to supply quality sausage bearing the Kroger name.
Aidells – The Specialty Sausage Maker
While Odom’s covers classic breakfast links and smoked sausages, Kroger partners with another manufacturer for premium gourmet varieties – Bay Area-based Aidells. Founded in 1983 by sausage aficionado Bruce Aidells, the company specializes in artisanal smoked, cooked, and fresh sausages.
After building the Aidells brand at restaurants and gourmet shops, the company was eventually acquired by food industry giant ConAgra Foods. Aidells moved production from California to a facility in Ohio while retaining Bruce Aidells’ signature recipes and quality standards.
In recent years, Aidells has produced an increasing number of exclusive products for the Kroger chain. Their offerings include unique flavors like pineapple teriyaki turkey and mango habanero chicken sausage. Thanks to Aidells, Kroger can offer their shoppers specialty sausages beyond typical mass-market fare.
Why Kroger Rely on These Trusted Suppliers
Kroger likely chose Odom’s Tennessee Pride and Aidells as their core sausage makers due to:
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Size and production capabilities – Both partners operate large facilities able to pump out huge volumes for Kroger’s 2,800 stores.
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National distribution – Odom’s and Aidells distribute to retailers and foodservice operators across America, making them ideal suppliers for Kroger locations from coast to coast.
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Category expertise – Each company specializes in breakfast and smoked sausages, aligning with Kroger’s product lineup.
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Product breadth – Together, the two cover everything from basic pork links to trendy unique flavors under one private brand.
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Working relationship – Kroger’s history and direct investment in each company cements mutual trust and commitment.
By consolidating sausage production with select manufacturers, Kroger can ensure consistency and quality control across a massive chain. Their customers nationwide can enjoy the same great sausages like clockwork.
Behind the Scenes: Making Kroger Sausage
Ever wonder how sausage gets made before hitting those familiar Kroger deli cases? Here’s a quick look at the sausage-making process:
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Meat selection – Odom’s and Aidells source meat from major protein suppliers like Tyson and Smithfield. For breakfast links, pork shoulder is typically used.
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Seasoning – Spices, herbs and flavorings are added based on proprietary recipes for each variety.
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Grinding – Meat is ground and mixed with the seasonings to distribute flavors evenly.
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Stuffing – The seasoned meat mixture is stuffed into casings, either natural or collagen-based.
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Cooking – Sausages are smoked, steamed or cooked to required internal temperatures for food safety.
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Cooling and chilling – After cooking, sausages are cooled then chilled or frozen for distribution.
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Packaging – Links are bagged or vacuum-sealed, while patties are tray-packed. All are labeled for Kroger.
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Shipping – Pallets of packaged sausage are distributed to Kroger warehouses then stocked at local deli counters.
With expertise honed over decades, Kroger’s partners churn out amazing sausage using time-tested techniques. Their skills combined with Kroger’s distribution might are a winning recipe for sausage success.
Summary: The Partners Powering Kroger’s Sausage Selection
From familiar breakfast links to trendy flavored sausages, Kroger’s deli section has all bases covered courtesy of two long-running partners. Odom’s Tennessee Pride provides traditional smoked and pork sausage links using their efficient mass production capabilities. When shoppers want something more adventurous, they can count on Aidells’ artisanal varieties like mango habanero chicken.
By teaming up with specialized sausage makers, Kroger gives their customers quality, selection and value across 2,800 stores. So next time you grab a pack of sausage at Kroger’s, you can feel good knowing it came from a trusted producer with a time-honored craft. Who says you can’t have it all when it comes to good sausage? Certainly not Kroger.
Who Makes Kroger Sausage?
Kroger is one of the biggest grocery store chains in the US, and it sells a lot of private-label goods under its own brand name. Their breakfast sausage is one of their best-selling items. You can find it in the meat section of their stores. But who is responsible for making this delicious sausage?.
The answer is not straightforward, as Kroger sources its sausage from various companies across the country. One such company is Phillips Meat Processing, located in Zanesville, Ohio. At Phillips Meat Processing, they only sell fresh cuts of meat that come from nearby farms and livestock auctions. They recently renovated and expanded their facility to meet the growing demand for their products from Kroger.
Another company responsible for producing Kroger’s sausage is Tara Foods, located in Albany, Georgia. Kroger has 34 factories that make food and drinks for their stores. Tara Foods makes all of their store-brand peanut butter, peanut oil, juices, sauces, wines, vinegars, baking and flavoring extracts, and liquid water enhancers. They make more than 250 different kinds of products that are sent to Kroger stores in the US, Canada, Mexico, China, and the UK.
Kroger also sources its sausage from other local meat processors and large-scale production facilities across the country. These businesses are committed to using top-notch ingredients and making sure that Kroger’s sausage meets their standards for freshness and taste.
Phillips Meat Processing in Zanesville, Ohio, is one of the best area meat processors and one of Kroger’s main sausage suppliers. They are known for always having fresh meat cuts and getting their meat from farms and livestock auctions in the area. They recently expanded their facility to meet the growing demand for their products from Kroger.
Another local meat processor, Dee-Jay’s Custom Butchering in Fredericktown, Ohio, gives Kroger a certain kind of ham that is then sent to Michael’s Finer Meats to be sold. They are dedicated to using good ingredients and making sure their goods meet Kroger’s standards for freshness and taste.
A new butcher shop called Butcher Block No. 9 and Charcuterie sells meats grown in the area as well as sausages made from wild game. Even though they don’t sell Kroger’s sausage directly, they are a great choice for people who want meat products that come from nearby.
In addition to local meat processors, Kroger sources its sausage from large-scale production facilities across the country. One such facility is Land O’Frost, which has a processing facility in Lansing, Illinois. Along with Kroger sausage, the plant makes hot dogs, lunch meats, and other specialty items for their own brand and for other private-label brands.
By moving operations from the Wimmer’s plant to the Lansing facility, the process could be brought up to date and new equipment bought, such as bowl choppers, natural smoke generators, and packaging portioning equipment. The factory has three stuffing lines, five packaging lines, and can make about 12 million pounds of hot dogs and sausages every year.
By adding more smokehouses to the plant, the cooking process could use consistent and precise amounts of smoke, making sure that every product has the right color and flavor. The plant has six smokehouses, and each one can cook any of the goods, from lunch meat to hot dogs and sausages. The hot dogs and sausage are made with maple wood chips, and the lunch meats are smoked with hickory wood.
Efficiencies were also realized at the consolidated plant with the addition of updated product handling and packaging equipment. For example, Wimmer’s famous Little Smokies cocktail sausages used to need each package to be weighed out by hand, but now portioning equipment does that work automatically.
Kroger has put in place strict quality control measures to make sure that their sausage meets their standards for taste and freshness. Before the sausage is sent to customers, it is checked for quality and safety, and strict adherence to all HACCP rules is closely watched. For example, pest control is part of the regular inspections of the production facilities to make sure they are always clean.
Kroger also requires its suppliers to adhere to certain standards for ingredient sourcing and manufacturing processes. This includes using hand-mixed spices, small-batch production, and real hickory wood smoke. “Never Cheapen Your Products!” is the motto of the company’s founder and president. It stresses how important it is to keep quality standards high.
Along with these steps, Kroger works closely with its suppliers to teach them about HACCP rules and quality control procedures. This ensures that all employees are knowledgeable about the processes and functional interdependencies involved in producing Kroger’s sausage.
Kroger gets its private-label products from a lot of different companies across the country, and it also puts a lot of emphasis on getting them from sustainable sources. Kroger, for example, hires outside companies to make 60% of its private brands, which includes all of its non-food private brands. This lets Kroger work with suppliers that care about the environment and can meet the high standards for quality and freshness that the company has.
Niagara Water, one of Kroger’s suppliers and the maker of 90% of Kroger’s bottled water, is always improving its plant technology to make it less harmful to the environment. Kroger’s Simple Truth brand will also be releasing a number of plant-based products this fall. These will appeal to the growing number of people who want to eat less meat for health or environmental reasons.
Kroger’s commitment to sustainable sourcing practices extends beyond just its private-label products. The company wants to get all of its palm oil from sustainable sources by 2020, and it has already made a lot of progress toward that goal. Kroger also works with suppliers that promise to cut down on waste and carbon emissions in their production processes.
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