The Bacon Trend Is Here to Stay

Lower wholesale prices and creative concoctions lead to a resurgence of all things bacon.

May 21, 2015

NEW YORK – For anyone who was worrying that the bacon trend was losing steam, in favor of healthier items like kale or quinoa, you can probably stop. Bacon’s 15 minutes of fame isn’t likely to end anytime soon, thanks to a variety of factors such as low wholesale cost, innovative presentations, protein-obsessed consumers and a younger generation willing to try anything once – no matter how bizarre-sounding. (Bacon veggie burger? Bacon milkshake?)

While pork futures were at an all-time high last year, according to Bloomberg News, record U.S. pork production will surpass beef output for the first time this year, creating a glut sending both retail and wholesale prices to deliciously low levels.

Further, as beef costs reach all-time highs, foodservice operations are adding bacon to more dishes because it raises the flavor profile without raising the price. Bacon is also a favorite of daring chefs. Bloomberg cites Burke’s Bacon Bar in Newark, New Jersey, which makes reuben sandwiches with bacon kraut and peanut bacon brittle for dessert. Bar Bacon in New York offers bacon Caesar and bacon kale salads. And at the Chicago White Sox’s U.S. Cellular Field, fans can sample a bacon flight of barbecue-spiced bacon, brown-sugar-glazed bacon, black-pepper bacon and jalapeno bacon.

In fact, cost cuts aside, much of bacon’s current en vogue status can be attributed to the adventurous palates and trendy diets of the young generation of diners. Technomic Executive Vice President Darren Tristano told Bloomberg: “Today’s younger consumers are very adventurous and are willing to try new things. There’s the Paleo Diet, which emphasizes animal fat and proteins that enthusiasts say the human body is genetically adapted to thrive on.”

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