Niche Biz: Pickled Pigs Feet
At first blush, one might assume the popularity of pickled pigs feet — a sour, bony, gelatinous food — has waned in recent decades as the array of munchies has grown. Unlike chips, dips and buffalo wings, they have yet to earn a space on the traditional Super Bowl party platter.
But Jonathan Foster, 31, and Timothy Foster, 28, who moved to South Florida last summer, know better. The clean-cut pair traded in their respective jobs as a financial analyst and investment advisor to take over the family business for a good reason.
SW Red Smith has been been pickling sausages, eggs, pickles, pig knuckles and feet at a profit, or close to it, for more than 60 years. Shoppers throughout Florida and southern Georgia, where the products are principally sold, will recognize the company’s blue and red labeled products, which depict a smiling, seemingly inebriated sausage dressed in tux and top hat.
The brothers’ plan is to infuse new life into the operation they’ve adopted from their father and their uncle, leveraging a sense of humor and apparent curiosity in their product to spur sales. But just how to get people eating more pickled meat snacks could prove challenging.
Photo by J. Albert Diaz/Miami Herald Staff.
Mike10613 on October 1st, 2007 9:31 am
reading your blog reminded me of my childhood when we ate pigs feet, chitterlins (the intestines and tripe! I’m in England – we had a big family!
Good luck selling the pickled version – sounds delicious.
Dave on October 13th, 2008 10:11 am
I grew up eating pickled pork hocks, pigs feet, pickled eggs and such. These foods were out of neccessity as much as for their appeal as refrigeration was not always available and pickled foods could be kept for some time without refrigeration. To this day a good pickled hock is like candy to me and I have dedicated my business to these delicacies.
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