Under new ownership, a local jerky company that filed for bankruptcy in late 2021 will soon hit retail shelves nationwide.
Perky Jerky was founded in 2009 by entrepreneur Brian Levin. In 2017, the then Greenwood-Village-based company sold its jerky products at more than 40,000 stores across the U.S., including Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Whole Foods and Target.
In November 2021, Perky Jerky filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with assets up to nearly $1.93 million and debts up to approximately $15.8 million.
Now, under the ownership of Littleton-based 2Bold Brands, Perky Jerky is preparing for a national relaunch of its jerky products.
"In the meat snack space, we really need to have innovation,” said Ryan Surroz, CEO of 2Bold Brands. “When Perky Jerky went into bankruptcy, I think there was a big void that was formed, and it just hasn’t really been filled. ... So we’re bringing Perky back.”
Surroz acquired Perky Jerky in May 2022, adding to his portfolio of meat snacks brands.
Nearly two years before acquiring Perky Jerky, he and his father-in-law, Rich Schierburg, purchased majority ownership in Savage Jerky, a bacon jerky brand previously based in Georgia.
Perky Jerky was a trailblazer in the industry with its turkey jerky. Savage Jerky is said to have elevated the jerky realm with its bacon jerky.
According to 2Bold Brands, the two jerky companies previously struggled to keep up with consumer demand and scale. Surroz saw these two brands complimented each other and wanted to redeem them.
Both Perky Jerky and Savage Jerky were purchased under the holding company RS2 for undisclosed amounts. Surroz wanted to create a parent company for the two brands that spoke to their original product lines and history. He said it is important to keep both names because of their loyal following.
“Both Savage and Perky had ‘bold’ in their taglines and both of them have bold flavor profiles. ... So 2Bold just really stood out,” Surroz said.
2Bold Brands was formed in January, with RS2 as a stakeholder. 2Bold Brands recently closed its first capital raise, too. The undisclosed family and friends round was oversubscribed and will help the company bring both brands to market.
At some point, the company will likely raise more capital, Surroz said, but for now, there’s a clear path forward with a lot of runway.
Savage Jerky will be available in all Sprouts Farmers Market locations in September. Surroz and his team are reviewing several purchase orders for Perky Jerky to expand in the northwest part of the U.S. and along the East Coast. In the meantime, consumers can order jerky on the companies’ websites and find Perky Jerky on Amazon.
“We will succeed only by our customers and our fans,” Surroz said. “... The only way that we can truly innovate is to make sure that we're listening to our customers, understand where the category is headed, and make sure that we're responding to make Perky really successful. ... We want to continue on as a leader in the category and be a name that people recognize.”
“We really want to change the way that people look at jerky,” he said.
