Key Takeaways
- Hirsch founded Think Jerky, a meat snack focused on chef-crafted flavors, in 2015.
- Elizabeth Holmes eats the brand’s honey sriracha flavor in ‘You Can See Everything.’
- Sales spiked 345% — and Hirsch is committed to capitalizing on the unexpected virality.
On October 16, Ricky Hirsch’s meat snack startup Think Jerky experienced an unscripted marketing moment so crazy it’s “not even once in a lifetime,” the founder and CEO tells Entrepreneur.
Hirsch launched Think Jerky in 2015, building on his finance background and creative inclinations to start a “cool” jerky brand with a minimalist design and unique, chef-crafted flavors.
The brand’s sriracha honey flavor, created by Michelin-starred and two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gale Gand, landed in the spotlight last month.
It was completely unexpected.
Think Jerky makes a cameo in You Can See Everything
Hirsch was watching poker on television at his home in Austin, Texas, when he received a text from one of his employees.
She was in New York and had just attended a screening of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s A24 meta-documentary featuring Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the lead-up to her federal prison sentence.
Holmes was convicted of one count of conspiracy alongside three wire fraud charges stemming from more than $140 million in investor losses in 2022.
“ I was familiar with Elizabeth Holmes,” Hirsch says. “I’m in the business world, so that always intrigued me. And I saw the Hulu series. I was not familiar with Nathan Fielder at all.”
Hirsch’s employee was “freaking out” over Think Jerky’s cameo, the founder recalls.
In You Can See Everything, Holmes requests turkey jerky from the prison vending machine. The scene is reenacted with Amanda Seyfried, who plays Holmes in Hulu’s The Dropout. At one point, the camera pans to the vending machine — “it’s like product placement, the best, most beautiful shot,” Hirsch says.
The film ends with Holmes and her husband Billy Evans eating Think Jerky.
Handing out Think Jerky in front of the theater
Hirsch decided to see the film for himself the next day, but he still had no idea how much the on-screen moment would change his business. “I brought some jerky with me,” Hirsch says. “And when it came on screen, I was overwhelmed. I was like, This is wild.”
The founder walked out of the theater in Austin with about 30 bags of jerky in tow. He started handing them out to people — and they “were freaking out.” It was a sign of things to come.
Within two weeks, Think Jerky’s honey sriracha sales were up 345% on the company’s website and 92% on Amazon. Someone posted on X that the Texas supermarket chain H-E-B had sold out of “the Elizabeth Holmes jerky.”
Reddit forums dissected what Think Jerky might represent as a narrative symbol. (“They think it symbolizes manipulation or control. There’s all these theories”). Fans dressed up as the Think Jerky bag for Halloween (“You have to make that costume”). YouTube videos discussed it. Restaurants reached out for collaborations. People hawked fake merchandise.
“If somebody wanted to pay for this publicity, it’s in the millions of dollars,” Hirsch says.
Hirsch chalks up some of the virality to how the brand’s name — “Think” Jerky — plays right into the “wild,” layered film and becomes its own sort of small character.
Adding fuel to Think Jerky’s marketing fire
Now, the founder is determined to add as much fuel to the marketing fire as possible.
But that’s a tall order for a fully bootstrapped company with four employees. “People are stepping up, our significant others are stepping up and all that, but we are not a big business,” Hirsch says. “We do not have a big team. We never raised money, which is very unique in my industry.”
Hirsch acknowledges that people might not remember Think Jerky’s logo or company name in five years, but they might remember the shot of that bag. So he’s doing his best to make it a meme and keep the conversation going.
The team is going to San Diego for the Food & Wine festival. Gale Gand will make an egg dish (another humorous nod to the film) and top it with the jerky. The team is also planning lookalike contests, where they’ll hand out jerky and display a cutout of Holmes.
Continuing to lean into the viral moment
Sales remain strong, and Hirsch anticipates selling out. Think Jerky has about 60 days’ worth of finished inventory in reserve to meet the demand.
Currently, the brand is revamping its website, which will be complete in about a month, for a “soft rebrand” that fully captures the product’s chef-crafted approach. Think Jerky is also launching new products, including a Thanksgiving turkey stick made with four-time James Beard Award-winner Andrew Zimmern.
Looking ahead, Hirsch would be very interested in raising money for Think Jerky with the right partner. “ If Daniel Lubetzky wants to talk to me, I would love to talk to Daniel Lubetzky,” the founder says.
Hirsch is excited to continue leaning into Think Jerky’s surprise breakout and explosive growth.
“ I thought it was going fade maybe, after the third weekend, but it’s growing,” Hirsch says. “People are reaching out, people want to collaborate. I want to introduce my creative marketing and hopefully bring our company to a new level.”
Key Takeaways
- Hirsch founded Think Jerky, a meat snack focused on chef-crafted flavors, in 2015.
- Elizabeth Holmes eats the brand’s honey sriracha flavor in ‘You Can See Everything.’
- Sales spiked 345% — and Hirsch is committed to capitalizing on the unexpected virality.
On October 16, Ricky Hirsch’s meat snack startup Think Jerky experienced an unscripted marketing moment so crazy it’s “not even once in a lifetime,” the founder and CEO tells Entrepreneur.
Hirsch launched Think Jerky in 2015, building on his finance background and creative inclinations to start a “cool” jerky brand with a minimalist design and unique, chef-crafted flavors.
The brand’s sriracha honey flavor, created by Michelin-starred and two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gale Gand, landed in the spotlight last month.