Keeping it in the Family: How a 95-Year-Old Beef Jerky Business is Leveraging Amazon to Grow

People’s Choice Beef Jerky has been a fixture in Los Angeles since 1929, when Mark Bianchetti’s grandfather John first started the company selling sausages and chorizo. Now in its fourth generation of family leadership, the business has evolved into one of the premier beef jerky producers in the country, leveraging Amazon to drive its business.

The transition to focusing solely on small batch, artisan beef jerky happened in the 1970s, when Mark took over the company from his father.

“My dad said, ‘When you make a product, somebody has to come to you to get it,’” said Mark. “That really stuck with me. If we could make a great beef jerky that people wanted, they’d have to come to us.”

Through that philosophy, People’s Choice has grown to now operating a bustling 35-employee facility in downtown Los Angeles, producing over 40,000 pounds of beef jerky per week in 15 different flavors. But the real game-changer for the family business has been their embrace of ecommerce, especially with Amazon.

“Amazon has been a godsend for this company,” said Mark, adding that when his son Brian and wife Courtney first proposed selling on the platform about 10 years ago, he was hesitant.

“I was a little leery at first - I wondered if we’d be able to keep up with the demand,” he said. But their decision to partner with Amazon in 2016 paid off.

“We started with just putting a few products on there as a test, and within the first year our Amazon sales had doubled,” said Brian Bianchetti, now CEO of the family business. “It’s been incredible to see the growth.”

The family credits much of that success to leveraging Amazon’s tools and programs, from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to A+ Content and sponsored ads.

“FBA offers the opportunity for us to reach an audience with a much higher intent to buy that are going to spend more, and it also helps us as a small business from a logistics and operation standpoint,” said Brian. “Instead of having to fulfill thousands of orders every day, we can leverage the Amazon network to make sure that our product gets to those customers in a quick and secure way.”

“FBA has been a game-changer,” he added. And the ability to bring their brand story to life through A+ Content has helped People’s Choice stand out in the crowded beef jerky space. With A+ Content, sellers can add rich text, image carousels, and video to enhance product listings, and run tests to understand what content best attracts customers and drives conversion.

For People’s Choice, sharing the legacy and traditions of their 95-year-old family business through A+ Content has made all the difference.

“One thing that we hear from our customers on Amazon is that [our brand story] is what makes us different,” Brian said. “They love our product, but more importantly, they love the people that are behind the product.”

As People’s Choice looks to the future, the fourth generation is committed to honoring the family’s legacy while also innovating. Brian and his sister Sara Bianchetti, who oversees marketing, have ambitious plans to expand their product line and grow the business through strategic partnerships. And the family remains dedicated to maintaining their handcrafted, high-quality approach.

“We’re not just a commodity product - we’re a brand with a story, and our customers really connect with that,” said Sara. “We’re excited to keep growing, but always staying true to our roots as a family-owned business.”

With Amazon fueling their online expansion and a commitment to quality, the Bianchetti family is confident that People’s Choice Beef Jerky will be a household name for generations to come.