Bacon drippings gained a lot of credibility as a food seasoning when Granny’s Good Ol’ Fashion Bacon Drippings placed in the SpiritBank/Tulsa Community College Entrepreneurial Spirit Award competition. Jan Laub, owner of Twin Foods, Inc., took home a $5,000 prize. Narrowed down from nearly 100 applicants, finalists spent the last six months pitching their business models while receiving coaching from Tulsa business leaders during four rounds of judging.
Laub said the idea for the product came to her after a gumbo recipe called for a cup of bacon grease. “I didn’t have bacon grease and I sure didn’t want to fry a bunch of bacon just to get the grease so I checked in grocery stores to see if there was such a thing as pre-packaged bacon grease. I didn’t find any – now I knew there was a market for it.”
That’s when Laub began her market research and found the right connections to help her launch her business. One of those connections was the Women’s Business Center (WBC) of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. (REI). She received assistance with her business plan, attended WBC training workshops, networked at WBC events and was put in touch with Oklahoma State University‘s Food & Agricultural Products Center. The Center helped her with a nutrition label and water activity testing to determine shelf life. OSU also contacted co-packers to produce and package the product.
For bacon drippings to place in a competition may be a bit surprising in our health-conscious, fat-cutting culinary world. But, Granny’s Good Ol’ Fashion Bacon Drippings is a high-quality rendered bacon fat that adds smoky flavor to dishes, and according to Laub, it has less cholesterol and less saturated fat than cooking with butter, and there is zero transfat. Neither does it contain sodium because it is smoked before curing.
“We were so happy to celebrate Jan’s award-winning success and even more pleased to see her product on the shelf at Utica Square, Petty’s Fine Foods, Reasor’s Grocery Stores and other markets,” Dr. Barbara Rackley, WBC Program Manager said. “Jan’s success is a great example of what can happen when entrepreneurs receive the assistance they need from all of Oklahoma’s outstanding resources.”
For more information and recipes, visit Granny’s Good Ol’ Fashion Bacon Drippings atwww.TwinFoods.com or find her on facebook, Granny’s Bacon Drippings.