Andrew Thomas - Rebranding a $400M Meat Snack Leader

On this episode, we’re joined by Andrew Thomas, VP of Marketing at Archer, the fast-growing meat snack brand formerly known as Country Archer. With a new name, bold new packaging, and a fresh retail strategy, Archer is repositioning itself from niche natural to mainstream powerhouse on track to hit ~$400M in sales in 2025.

Prior to Archer, Andrew led marketing at brands like KeVita, PepsiCo, and Chicken of the Sea

In this episode, he breaks down the strategy behind dropping “Country,” the rebrand process from beginning to end, and what it takes to execute a full pack change across mass, club, and natural channels.

We also dive deep into how to win and what’s changing at Target, Walmart and Whole Foods, and C-stores, and  how Andrew uses an “agency recruiter”.

Episode Highlights:

🎯 Why the name “Country Archer” had to go
📦 How Archer’s new cream-and-orange packs were built for shelf impact
🏪 What mass retailers want to see before approving a packaging change
🛒 Multipack strategy for club vs. conventional grocery
🔄 Resetting 30,000+ facings without breaking everything
📈 How to time a national rebrand to hit seasonal buyer resets
🚫 The flavor that didn’t make the cut—and what replaced it
💬 Key language shifts that helped Archer win broader household appeal
🔥 Tactics for launching new SKUs in Target and Walmart
📊 Retailer scorecards, velocity benchmarks, and what buyers really care about

Table of Contents:

04:11 – Why the Rebrand
07:04 – Rebrand: Visual ID and Packaging Design
21:40 – Rebrand: ExpoWest Launch
24:40 – Rebrand: Key Metrics
26:16 – Rebrand: Packaging Changeover
37:05 – The Difference Between the Key Retailers
42:10 – Trends

Links:

Archer – https://www.archerjerky.com
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-j-thomas/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.