If you've ever taken a road trip, or even set foot in a gas station, you've likely seen
the fiery Slim Jim package design calling you. Chances are curiosity won and you've
given them a taste.
The meaty snack has been around since 1928 but it has taken years to perfect that bold,
smoky flavor, according to The New York Times. In fact, the Slim Jim you grab today differs
greatly from the one you would have eaten 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean it's any
less tasty.
These mini sausages are smoked for 20 hours. The details of the recipe are sworn to secrecy,
and Lon Adams, the developer of the Slim Jim recipe, devoted his years to keeping it classified.
During the Great Depression, Adolph Levis, the inventor of Slim Jim, was selling snacks
out of his garage. Levis noted the lack of convenience when it came to snacks. Pickled
eggs and nuts weren't substantial enough, and frankly, weren't the tastiest. Since pepperoni
was popular, he came to the rescue with a smaller meat stick that was easy to grab and
eat.
As far as flavor goes, Lon Adams was the man.The New York Times even called him a, quote, "towering
figure in Jimology," thanks to the fact that he was literally the company's director of
meat technology.
Eleanor Harrington, Lon Adams' daughter, tells The New York Times that her father would bring
home endless boxes of Slim Jims. She and her brother would taste wacky new flavors and
help give their father pointers. According to Harrington,
"They went through barbecue flavor and Italian seasoning and pizza flavor and lots of different
ones that never made it to market. I did not like them. I think it was all the testing
I had to do as a kid."
It didn't take long for the snack to reach bars, though not in the packaging we see today.
Slim Jims were kept in glass jars with vinegar until the late 1960s. Once Slim Jims were
wrapped in their signature packages, they went from bar snack to any-time-of-day snack.
This nationwide favorite has not only morphed in flavor over the years, but in branding
and target audience as well. Adolph Levis hoped to add a sophisticated element with
his marketing, which is when Slim Jim — the jazzy top hat, cane sporting gentleman — was
introduced. Slim Jim's style changed with the times, but he was eventually eliminated
completely from the packaging.
When it was found that Slim Jims weren't grabbing the attention of health fanatics, the marketing
team started advertising the meat stick as a protein-packed snack. This seemed to appeal
to a particular crowd, thanks to Macho Man Randy Savage, who was the face of Slim Jim’s
for much of the '90s.
"Gotta have beef, gotta have spice, need a little excitement? Snap into a Slim Jim! Oh
yeah!"
Something was clearly working; The Atlantic reports that the savory morsel went on to
net hundreds of millions of dollars in sales during that decade. But what's really in a
Slim Jim that makes people love it so much?
They contain a lot of ingredients for a product resembling a small pepperoni stick. Some may
argue that the recipe uses meat products that would otherwise be tossed, but regardless,
it's unlikely anything listed on your Slim Jim wrapper rings a bell. Some additives hardly
sound edible, such as sodium nitrite and dextrose. As Wired says,
"It's real meat, all right. But it ain't Kobe."
When the world became more health-conscious, the future looked uncertain for Slim Jim.
Processed foods were being left on the shelves, while nutritious veggies were quickly snatched
up.
The brand surprisingly survived both a fatal explosion at the only Slim Jim factory in
2009 and a health-focused media world, according to MEL Magazine. The marketing team hopped
on the fad, creating healthier options for customers. Today, Slim Jim offers a premium
line that advertises high protein content, full-bodied flavors, and healthier ingredients.
Slim Jim brand director Spencer Fivelson said
"One of our most recent initiatives is the introduction of Slim Jim Premium, a meat snack
that appeals to a slightly older male consumer."
Who knows what craziness these meat wizards will think of next?!
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