Jack Link's History

In the great white forest of north western Wisconsin sits the most prominent beef jerky maker in the country. Closer to Duluth, MN and the boundary waters than a major Wisconsin city, it’s quite the place to have a large scale beef jerky operation.

In the late 1800’s, Chris Link took the leap and brought his family to Minog, Wisconsin from Germany in search of a better life. His family’s secret sausage recipe traveled with him and is the basis for the company we know today. Chris’s son Earl started the family legacy by opening Minong Wisconsin’s first general store and butcher shop. They made beef snacks and sold their cattle locally, making a name for having a reputable operation. Minong is still where they’re headquartered today.

Wolf (yes, Wolf) Link took us into the 20th century when he was born in 1916. Wolf was renound in the northern Midwest for having the finest cattle herd around. Quite the feat back then. Wolf had one more claim to fame though: his son Jack… Jack Link.

Jack became obsessed with perfecting his family’s jerky recipies. As the story goes, Jack was out hunting with his two sons and having picked up some local beef snacks to sustain them throughout the day, he found himself distraught by the terribly bland taste of the beef they had chosen. Knowing he could do better, Jack took a dive into the family archives and came up with the original Kippered beef steak recipe. 1986 Jack formalized his love for the meat world when he bought a jerky machine and founded the company we know today as Jack Link’s beef jerky. After the cumbersome endeavor of starting a business and sharing his beef with the world, jack struck gold and it took off.

Today Jack’s oldest son Troy sits at the helm of the company. With 4 generations of meat history backing him, along side the world's friendliest yeti, the company still continues to thrive. Having more recently purchased Unilever’s meat snack division, the company went international and is one of the most recognizeable snack food manufacturers in the world.

Jack Link himself still resides in Minong. He’s rigorously involved in the community and quite frankly after watching a few interviews he’s about the most clean cut, down home, Wisconsin man you can imagine. An amazing family story and an amazing Wisconsin company.