Hormel unveils bacon-scented wrapping paper

When Hormel says, "Everything is better wrapped in bacon," it means it.

While asparagus, dates and even steaks are often wrapped in these savory slices of pork, Hormel Foods is hoping fans will also enjoy gifts wrapped in its new bacon-scented wrapping paper.

The Austin, Minn.-based food maker unveiled the paper Tuesday in what has become a bit of a tradition to promote its Black Label brand using the highly recognizable scent of bacon.

Hormel is giving away the scented gift wrap in an online contest that runs through Black Friday. Hormel will donate $1 to the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program for every entry, up to $10,000.

The company will give away "several thousand" bacon-wrapped packages, though it won't be selling rolls of gift wrap this year.

"We may be open to considering selling it in the future," Sam Hovland, senior brand manager for Black Label bacon, said in an interview. "This is a unique opportunity for us, something fun and silly for us to do around the holidays."

The company also enlisted rapper Coolio to pitch the wrap.

"Now that's a gift that looks good enough to eat — don't though," the "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper said in a promotional video.

Last year Hormel released a bacon-scented face mask and in 2016 put out a bacon-scented virtual reality viewer as the company leans in to marketing with the intoxicating aroma.

"Consumers love recipes wrapped in bacon," Hovland said. "There's this great insight around bacon as this indulgence that makes everything better. It's something craveable, something different, something ownable by our brand."

Before the pandemic, restaurants sold the majority of bacon consumed in the U.S. Earlier this year, Steiner Consulting Group said changes "in bacon economics" meant retailers should "take advantage of this opportunity to pivot and meet consumers where they are now — consuming their meals around the breakfast table rather than in their cars and work desks."

In its most recent quarterly report, Hormel said its Black Label bacon helped lead an increase in retail and deli sales of its refrigerated foods business, which also relies on restaurant sales.

"Led by the continued recovery in the foodservice business, refrigerated foods is expecting improved results in the fourth quarter in spite of higher input and logistics costs and the impact of labor shortages."