CLAREMONT, USA – New England based meat producer, North Country Smokehouse, introduces two new organic hams to their retail lineup; Applewood Smoked Ham Steak and Petit Ham.
“Consumers want convenient, modestly portioned pack sizes and that’s hard to find in the ham category.” says Mike Kelly, vice president of business development and national sales. “Couple that with the limited options available in the non-GMO organic and certified humane protein category and it was clear to us, we had a winner.” They were right. The new organic Applewood Smoked Ham Steak launched in six regions of Whole Foods Market in September and the Petit Ham was featured as a limited-time holiday offering, both products performed incredibly well. The results are in, shoppers want more organic options to choose from without having to bite off more than they can chew.
The ham steak is sold in a 6oz pack and serves two. The Petit Ham is a little over a pound and serves four. The hams are fully cooked, with the signature smokehouse flavor of which North Country is well noted. The pork is maple-cured using syrup from a nearby sugar maker. The hams are smoked low & slow over embers of choice hardwoods. “People often say our ham is the best they’ve ever eaten, and they want to enjoy it year-round but find purchasing a whole or half ham to be too much. They might have a small family, or adult children, and they don’t want to be wasteful, especially organic shoppers who tend to be more conscious about their impact on the land and environment when making buying decisions,” says Kelly.
These new products certainly check all the boxes, they are sized just right, easy to prepare and humanely raised. In fact, all North Country’s certified humane and organic offerings are free from antibiotics, added growth hormones, chemical nitrates, and nitrites. The pork is sourced from their very own, vertically integrated farms where the animals are vegetarian fed with no animal byproducts. The organic recipes go a step further and are produced using 100 percent non-GMO ingredients.
The expansion of the company’s organic lineup marks yet another milestone in the strategic mission to be recognized as the North American leader for certified humane and organic smoked meats. Today, their products are offered through discerning distributors nationwide and can be found in upscale retailers like Whole Foods Market, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Shaw’s, Market Basket, Big Y, Target, Save Mart, Harris Teeter, Earthfare, Gelson’s and Bristol Farms.
