Second Nature Snags Tillamook Country Smoker in Beef Jerky Play

Second Nature Brands is betting big on meat snacks. The Highlander Partners-backed snack company announced Thursday it's acquiring Tillamook Country Smoker, a 60-year-old Oregon-based jerky and meat stick brand that's carved out a loyal following in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The deal adds a protein-forward brand to Second Nature's portfolio of better-for-you snacks — a category that's seen explosive growth as consumers ditch candy bars for options that don't spike blood sugar. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but the acquisition marks Second Nature's third major move since Highlander Partners took a stake in the company.

What's notable isn't just that another PE-backed platform is executing its buy-and-build playbook. It's that Second Nature is doubling down on meat snacks just as the category faces headwinds from rising beef costs and changing consumer preferences. The company clearly sees something others might be missing.

Tillamook Country Smoker isn't your gas station jerky. Founded in 1962 in Tillamook County, Oregon — the same region famous for its Tillamook Cheese — the brand has built a reputation for premium, naturally smoked meat snacks made without artificial ingredients. Think thick-cut beef strips and Old Fashioned Beef Jerky that actually tastes like meat, not a chemistry experiment.

Second Nature Brands sits at the intersection of two consumer trends that won't quit: convenience and health. The company's existing portfolio includes trail mixes, nut blends, and dried fruit — staples of the grab-and-go category that's replaced the vending machine candy bar for a generation of millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Adding Tillamook Country Smoker brings protein into the mix. Meat snacks have evolved from hunting trip provisions to mainstream desk drawer staples. The U.S. meat snacks market hit $3.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2029, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence.

The growth is being driven by consumers who want portable protein without the commitment of a meal. Jerky and meat sticks check those boxes — they're shelf-stable, high in protein, and increasingly made with clean labels that appeal to health-conscious buyers.

But the category isn't without its challenges. Beef prices remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, squeezing margins for manufacturers. And while meat snacks are growing, they're also facing competition from plant-based alternatives and other high-protein options like Greek yogurt and protein bars.

Highlander Partners, the Dallas-based private equity firm backing Second Nature, specializes in consumer and business services companies. The firm typically targets companies with $50 million to $400 million in revenue and works to scale them through operational improvements and strategic add-ons.

Second Nature fits the playbook perfectly. The company provides a platform for consolidating fragmented snack brands under one distribution and operational umbrella. Tillamook Country Smoker becomes the latest piece in that puzzle.

What Highlander gets with Tillamook is more than just revenue. The brand brings regional authenticity — a quality that's increasingly valuable in a market saturated with private label knockoffs. Oregon provenance matters to consumers who view the Pacific Northwest as a place where food is done right: artisanal, natural, and unpretentious.

The table above shows how the acquisition broadens Second Nature's category exposure while maintaining the better-for-you thread that ties the portfolio together. It's not just about adding brands — it's about creating a snack ecosystem that gives retailers a reason to allocate more shelf space to the Second Nature family.

The most valuable thing Second Nature is buying might not be Tillamook's recipes or brand equity. It's the distribution network. Tillamook Country Smoker has shelf space in grocery chains, natural food stores, and specialty retailers across the West Coast and increasingly nationwide. That's expensive and time-consuming to build from scratch.

If you think making jerky is just drying out beef, you're in for an expensive education. The meat snack category has specific operational challenges that separate winners from the companies that flame out after a Whole Foods trial.

First, there's the input cost volatility. Beef prices swing based on everything from drought conditions in cattle country to export demand from China. Unlike nut-based snacks where you can hedge commodity risk months in advance, beef is trickier. The spot market moves fast, and small manufacturers often lack the scale to lock in favorable long-term contracts.

Second, food safety regulations for meat products are stricter than for plant-based snacks. USDA inspections, pathogen testing, and cold chain logistics all add complexity and cost. Tillamook Country Smoker's six decades in business suggest they've figured out these operational hurdles — knowledge that's worth something in an acquisition.

Third, the smoking and curing process itself is part art, part science. Get it wrong and you either have a product that tastes like cardboard or one that's too inconsistent to scale. Tillamook's traditional smoking methods are a competitive advantage, assuming Second Nature doesn't mess with the formula in pursuit of margin expansion.

One reason Tillamook Country Smoker commands premium pricing is its ingredient list. No nitrates, no MSG, no artificial flavors. This isn't a nice-to-have anymore — it's table stakes for any brand trying to compete in the better-for-you segment.

The challenge is maintaining that clean label while scaling production. Natural preservatives cost more and can be harder to source consistently. If Second Nature pushes for aggressive growth, there's a risk of cutting corners that alienate the core customer base that made Tillamook valuable in the first place.

Here's the tension at the heart of deals like this: private equity firms need growth and margin expansion to generate returns. Consumer brands — especially those trading on authenticity and heritage — need to avoid looking like they've been acquired by private equity.

Tillamook Country Smoker's brand equity is tied to its Oregon roots and traditional methods. The packaging probably features mountains or forests or some other imagery that screams "made by people who care, not a factory in New Jersey." The minute consumers sense that's no longer true, the premium pricing power evaporates.

Second Nature's challenge is to professionalize the business — better supply chain management, more efficient production, expanded distribution — without sterilizing what made Tillamook special. It's a balancing act, and not every PE-backed acquirer gets it right.

The smart move would be to keep Tillamook's brand and operations relatively independent while plugging it into Second Nature's distribution and back-office infrastructure. Let the jerky people make jerky. Take over the logistics and retail relationships.

In the press release, Tillamook Country Smoker's leadership expressed enthusiasm about joining Second Nature's portfolio and accessing greater resources for growth. That's the script every acquired founder reads from. The real question is whether they stick around through the integration or take their earnout and exit.

Founder retention matters more in food and beverage than in, say, software. The product knowledge and supplier relationships are often locked in the heads of the people who built the company. If they leave in year two, the acquirer is often left holding a brand with no institutional knowledge of how to actually make the thing people are buying.

Meat snacks have been on a tear for the past five years. The question investors are asking now: is this a durable category expansion or a fad that's already maturing?

The bull case says protein consumption is structurally higher than it was a decade ago. Keto, paleo, carnivore, and high-protein diets have moved from fringe to mainstream. Meat snacks fit neatly into that trend, and there's no sign consumers are reverting to carb-heavy snacking patterns.

The bear case points to market saturation. Walk into any grocery store and you'll see an entire aisle devoted to jerky, meat sticks, and protein snacks. Differentiation is hard when there are 40 SKUs competing for attention. Private label is also eating into premium brands' market share, especially as retailers like Costco and Trader Joe's launch their own versions.

Then there's the plant-based wildcard. Brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have struggled with jerky and snack products, but that doesn't mean the category is dead. If someone cracks the code on a plant-based meat snack that actually tastes good and hits the right price point, it could siphon off a chunk of the health-conscious consumer base that's currently buying beef jerky.

This acquisition positions Second Nature as a multi-category snacking platform. The natural next move? Keep adding brands. Highlander's playbook involves rolling up fragmented categories, and snacking is about as fragmented as it gets.

Likely targets would include other regional snack brands with loyal followings but limited national distribution. Think small-batch nut butter companies, superfood snack bars, or other meat snack brands in geographies where Tillamook doesn't have a strong presence. The goal is to build a portfolio that gives Second Nature negotiating leverage with retailers like Whole Foods, Kroger, and Albertsons.

The table above lays out the strategic levers Second Nature can pull post-acquisition. Each comes with trade-offs, and the company's ability to execute will determine whether this deal creates value or becomes a cautionary tale about over-paying for a regional brand.

One area to watch: e-commerce. Selling jerky online is harder than it sounds. Shipping costs are high relative to product value, and consumers are used to buying meat snacks on impulse at checkout counters, not planning ahead and ordering online. But subscription models — think jerky-of-the-month clubs — could work if Second Nature can crack the customer acquisition cost equation.

This deal is part of a larger consolidation wave in better-for-you snacking. Private equity has been circling the category for years, attracted by steady demand, strong unit economics, and opportunities to roll up fragmented brands.

Recent comparable transactions include Hershey's acquisition of Dot's Pretzels for $1.2 billion in 2021, General Mills buying Epic Provisions in 2016, and Hormel's purchase of Applegate Farms for $775 million in 2015. The common thread: large CPG companies or PE-backed platforms acquiring brands with loyal customer bases and clean-label positioning.

What's changed in the past two years is the cost of capital. Higher interest rates mean PE firms are more cautious about leverage, and strategic buyers are more disciplined about multiples. That likely worked in Second Nature's favor if they were competing against corporate acquirers who might have paid more in the 2021 SPAC-era market.

The exit path for Highlander Partners probably involves either selling Second Nature to a larger CPG company once the portfolio reaches critical mass, or taking the company public if market conditions improve. Either way, the Tillamook acquisition needs to deliver revenue growth and margin expansion to justify the investment thesis.

For now, the deal underscores that there's still appetite for branded consumer acquisitions — if the brand brings something defensible to the table. Regional authenticity, clean labels, and loyal customers are worth paying for. Generic knockoffs with good Instagram marketing are not.

The next 12-18 months will tell us whether Second Nature can integrate Tillamook without breaking what made it valuable. Here's what matters:

Does the product quality hold? If customers start complaining that the jerky tastes different or the texture changed, that's a red flag that production was scaled too quickly or outsourced to a co-packer who doesn't understand the brand.

Does distribution expand without diluting brand equity? Getting Tillamook into more stores is the goal, but if it ends up next to gas station jerky on a wire rack instead of in the natural foods section, the premium positioning is toast.

Do key employees stick around? Watch LinkedIn for departures of Tillamook's leadership team and longtime employees. High turnover post-acquisition usually signals cultural misalignment or broken promises about autonomy.

Does Second Nature make another acquisition in the next year? If this was truly a platform play, they won't stop at one add-on. The pace of deal-making will signal how aggressive Highlander is about building scale before an exit.