What Company Makes Costco's Kirkland Brand Bacon?
Known for its bulk products, inexpensive food court items, and even its travel department, Costco boasted 130 million cardholders as of early 2024. Another aspect of the company's claim to fame that draws in so many customers is its in-house brand, Kirkland Signature. Kirkland products range from grocery items to kitchen products to gasoline. The products from the private-label brand are typically sold in bulk and are often much cheaper than their name-brand counterparts. Who is responsible for making these items? The answer is actually rather murky as different products are made by different manufacturers, some of which are very well known. For example, it's reputed that well-known tuna brand Bumble Bee makes Costco's canned tuna, and it's rumored that Grey Goose manufactures Costco's vodka.
So, what company is behind Costco's bacon? If history is any clue, there's a possibility that it could be the well-known food processing company, Hormel. Hormel is known for foods such as bacon, pepperoni, and chili. Hormel was also the first known manufacturer of Costco's bacon, though that public partnership has ended. It's just as possible, however, that Costco has moved on to a different bacon manufacturer — it's a mystery.
The history of Costco's bacon
While the manufacturers of many other Kirkland Signature products have been revealed, the current manufacturer of Kirkland Signature bacon has not been confirmed. When Costco first embarked on making its own bacon in 2004, a corporate buyer scoured bacon plants to find something that was up to snuff. This proved to be a difficult task, and eventually, Costco partnered with Hormel to create a co-branded bacon that was sliced thicker than what Hormel already made. The bacon was pre-cooked, and the thicker slices didn't shrink like regular bacon. It quickly became a crowd favorite. Because of the co-branding, there was no secret that Hormel was behind the original Costco bacon.
While that first iteration, which was introduced 20 years ago, has since been phased out in American stores, Costco does still sell Kirkland Signature bacon. The company hasn't revealed who makes the hickory-smoked bacon sold today, though some people speculate that Hormel is still behind the pre-packaged meat. Others, unhappy with the quality of the new product, don't believe Hormel still makes Kirkland bacon. Some Reddit users have complained on r/Costco about the branding change. "Haven't seen the Hormel brand in our store for a year or more, but yes, the quality went down when the name came off," one user wrote. It's possible that Hormel is still making the bacon using a different formulation, but it's also possible that it's an entirely different manufacturer.
Why did Costco remove Hormel's name from its bacon?
The company has not disclosed any reason for the branding change. Unless Costco began producing its own bacon, this was likely a switch to white labeling, a tactic used to save money. White labeling is a technique that many grocery stores use to help cut down on costs, whereby a name brand manufacturer makes the product, and the store sells it under their own brand or label at a lower price. For example, Costco has Kirkland Signature, Walmart has Great Value, and Publix has GreenWise. This helps the store save because they don't have to build manufacturing facilities or pay manufacturing costs themselves. It also helps the manufacturer (in this case, possibly Hormel) because they are guaranteed regular large purchases from the wholesale store. It also benefits the customer because it ultimately makes the product cheaper.
It's well-known that Costco already does this with other products, such as the tuna and vodka mentioned earlier. Though the manufacturers of many Kirkland Signature products have been leaked, Costco typically keeps its lips sealed and doesn't officially say which companies supply their products. It's also possible that Costco switched manufacturers, hence the removal of the Hormel name. At least for now, the jury remains out on the current manufacturer of Costco's Kirkland Signature bacon.