California based fast food chain Jack In The Box has released a new milkshake that is sure to appeal to the overindulgent in all of us.   The Bacon Shake is made up of  vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, a maraschino cherry and “bacon flavored syrup.” Interestingly enough while the Bacon shake is loaded with sugar and salt it has no actual bacon in it.  The Bacon Shake packs in 1,081 calories and 17 grams of protein.

According to Brock Keeling, a blogger at SFist, the Bacon Shake tastes

“Horrific!  A heavy, lingering bland with a touch of smoke that doesn’t go away,”

Bacon flavored anything is raging across America.  There is a company called J&D’s which manufactures bacon salt, a product that makes everything added taste like bacon.  They also manufacture bacon flavored mayonnaise and bacon flavored baby formula.  In stores across the south bacon flavored soda is on the shelves.  The NASCAR raceway in Charlotte announced a new dessert called the Funnel bacakonator which is a funnel cake covered with bacon and chocolate.  On the cosmetic front there is a bacon-scented cologne to absorb through your pores, while you’re busy digesting lunch.

There is actually an argument to be made that the world’s obsession with everything bacon has to do with a level of addiction.  Scientists have shown that fatty foods like bacon and cheesecake have a similar effect on the brain as cocaine. It make a lot of sense that this could be happening.  Basically indulging in Bacon releases a flood of happy chemicals in your brain called dopamine.  The high you experience is that beautiful feeling only a plate of bacon can provide.  Then you need another fix as soon as that one wears off.

Do you think they need to create a 12 step program for bacon fiends?

Jack In The Box Unveils Bacon Milshake is a post from: The Inquisitr

The story behind Bacon Salt is worth repeating, if only because it is one of those stories that are both unlikely and inspiring. It also proves to some extent that the lessons learned in the tech startup world can indeed be applied outside of the echochamber many of us reside in.

Bacon Salt was the invention of Dave Lefkow and Justin Esch, two former employees of Seattle startup Jobster. The idea for Bacon Salt came over dinner one night. This is how they tell it:

While on a business trip together, we had the chance to sit down for dinner and eventually, the conversation turned to our mutual love of bacon. It was then that Justin told Dave and another coworker named Kara about his idea for Bacon Salt. Kara, who is a vegetarian, loved the idea. Dave, a card-carrying carnivore and Midwesterner, loved it even more. Even the waiter at the fancy restaurant loved it.

Working in a startup gave them a strong understanding of what was required to get a business off the ground, but venture capital for untried food products isn’t as easy to find as funding for a Facebook application. Lefkow and Esch needed some seed capital to get the idea rolling, so they turned to the most unlikely source: Amercia’s Funniest Home Video Show. A video of Lefkow’s daughter took home $5,000 in prize money, and this kick started the company.

But where to go from here? The distribution business in food is not the internet. Supermarket shelf space is limited and often goes to the highest bidder, and Bacon Salt was an unproven product. Having successfully created Bacon Salt, Lefkow and Esch needed to spread the word. I spoke with someone familiar with the company and its rise from obscurity, and the strategy they used seemed highly familiar: viral internet marketing.

Along with a traditional website and blog, Bacon Salt was promoted strongly across social networks. Along with Lefkow’s YouTube account, Bacon Salt created groups on Facebook and MySpace. Thrown into the mix was a Twitter account and even a Zazzle store. The aim was to build viral brand awareness while keeping costs low. None of the accounts I visited had huge numbers, but from what I’m told, they were enough to plant a viral seed. Word of Bacon Salt grew, and within 3 months of launching the product Bacon Salt was popping up in the strangest of places. WWE magazine ran a story on Bacon Salt, along with some mens magazines, PC Gamer and even The New Yorker. Initially Bacon Salt didn’t have any distribution deals, offering their wares by online order only, but this soon changed as the press continued to build. What started as a viral internet campaign turned into positive mainstream media coverage, and consumer demand for Bacon Salt in their local supermarkets. I don’t have a list of where you can buy Bacon Salt today, but I’m told that penetration is strong across the United States, with several large chains stocking the product.

Overall it’s an unlikely story, but a true one. Two tech guys with no experience in food used their skills to create a viral food sensation. Even in a world of corporate dominance, the little guy can still occasionally make it. The only thing left to do is to pass the Bacon Salt, because as the company states in its motto: “Everything should taste like bacon.”

Bacon Salt: How two tech guys created a viral food sensation is a post from: The Inquisitr