Where Does Costco Source Its Kirkland Brand Bacon?

Costco is well known for providing its customers with some of the lowest prices on grocery staples, and it achieves this goal in part by outsourcing the production of its Kirkland Signature private label merchandise. Some folks may be aware of the popular brand behind Costco's coffee, and an easily identifiable NOM code clues us into where Costco's Kirkland tequila comes from. However, teasing out the source of the membership warehouse's bacon is a bit more complicated.

Meat production isn't quite the same as manufacturing other food and beverage commodities. While one brand can produce Costco's Kirkland vodka without too much trouble, there are only so many cows, chickens, and hogs in any given place at a time. This means that, in order to accommodate the protein demands of customers, Costco has to source its meat regionally and sometimes from a variety of suppliers.

One of the largest regional distributors of the big-box store's bacon is Smithfield. It has been surmised that the meat supplier delivers somewhere between 75% and 80% of Kirkland Signature's hickory smoked pork product, though that number remains speculative. Smithfield also makes bacon for competing retailers such as Kroger and Target, but the company hasn't always been the main source of Costco's rashers.

Back in 2013, Consumer Reports rated Kirkland Signature bacon the best when compared with rival brands like Niman Ranch and Trader Joe's. It is possible that at the time, Hormel held the reigns of production for Costco's premium breakfast staple. The meat supplier was making bacon for the membership warehouse as far back as 2004. At that time, Hormel also furnished the retailer with precooked bacon that was co-branded with Kirkland Signature.

Why and precisely when the company switched distributors is anyone's guess, and Smithfield has never confirmed that it is the source of Costco's succulent bacon. This doesn't come as much of a surprise as the brands behind Costco's Kirkland merchandise are typically tight-lipped about their partnership with the big-box retailer. Whether this is contractually obligated on their part or simply deemed information they don't want to share is also up for debate. Still, it doesn't keep internet sleuths from digging deep to discover the brand name companies responsible for manufacturing some of Costco's best private label products.