Hunt for clean snacks leads to booming jerky community

FROM free samples to over 200 stockists, Daniel Hudson never imagined the free jerky he gave to his customers would become a serious business.

With a passion for high-quality meat and clean eating, Hudson began making jerky for his children while working from his small Melbourne butcher shop.

With their tick of approval, he kept fine tuning his recipe and began to share free samples with his regular customers.

Soon word began to spread.

“[My customers] were telling me that it’s amazing and how good it is,” Hudson said. “Probably within a week of making it, I had all these new customers come in.

“I said I wasn’t really selling it and they all said ‘What do you mean?’, so I was weighing it into freezer bags just out of the tub at first.”

It wasn’t until a blind taste test, where his friends all picked his jerky as the best, that Hudson really knuckled down.

 

High-quality meat, no hidden additives, just natural protein and delicious seasoning. Now, 3099 Jerky is sold across Australia and Hudson is building a community.

From supporting independent supermarkets and venues to being the ‘jerky guy’, Hudson believes his product is so much more than a snack.

“I walk down the street just to get go to school to pick up the kids and four 14-year-olds all come up to me like ‘You’re the jerky guy’, and they want to know where they can get it and if they can get our jumpers,” Hudson said.

“I took my son to boxing and four different people basically all asked me the same things.

“These are all the older kids that are going to be looking out for my kids – we’ve got all these kids in the community that are now know my kids just because of a jerky brand.

“I’ve always been big on community but now it’s become like a national community and that’s so cool.”

From freezer bags to bespoke custom packaging, 3099 Jerky has come a long way, but Hudson couldn’t have done it without those around him.

The support from his partner, Denika, sons Beau and Zak, and mother Lorraine has kept him pushing through every obstacle.

 

Without them the ‘jerky guy’ wouldn’t have made it so far, Hudson said.

While they work tirelessly behind the scenes and at markets to keep 3099 Jerky running, there is one job they will always be number one at: chief taste testers.

And for those unsure what flavour to begin with, Hudson can assist.

“The standout out of all of them, and the flavour that’s the most different in that as well, is the salt and vinegar,” Hudson said.

“It’s what gets people in. People are either jerky eaters or they’re not.

“I reckon it’s almost 90 to 95 per cent of people that try it, like it. It’s a real good way for people to try jerky because they already like salt and vinegar.”

3099 Jerky can be found at independent stockists across Geelong and fortnightly at the Geelong City Market.

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