Bacon entrepreneurs bring in the bucks
Bacon Salt built a cult following on Twitter and Facebook.
 |
| Would you eat zero-calorie bacon? |
(Fortune Small Business) -- Tired of hearing that everything tastes like chicken? So are Seattle entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow. They want it all to taste like bacon.
Two years ago the former software engineers invented a zero-calorie, vegetarian, kosher, bacon-flavored salt in Esch's garage. The guys used grassroots tactics to develop a cult following for J&D's Bacon Salt, creating Facebook and Twitter profiles and dressing up as bacon strips at sporting events. In 2008 they reaped $1.4 million in revenues. The "bacontrepreneurs" expect to do twice as well this year. They're expanding to offer products ranging from bacon-flavored lip balm to bacon-scented sunscreen and soaps.
"There isn't any limit to what bacon can do," Lefkow says.
Not everyone is ready to push the limits, however. "The idea makes my spine tingle," says celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, "but bacon without the fat is like diamonds without the sparkle." 
-
The Cheesecake Factory created smaller portions to survive the downturn. Play -
A breeder of award-winning marijuana seeds is following the money and heading to the U.S. More -
Most small businesses die within five years, but Amish businesses have a survival rate north of 90%. More -
The 10 most popular franchise brands over the past decade -- and their failure rates. More -
These firms are the last left in America making iconic products now in their twilight. More
