J&D's Down Home Enterprises, also known as J&D's Foods, was an American company founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow to produce vegetarian based, bacon-related products such as Bacon Salt and Baconnaise. In November 2017, the company was purchased by L and L Specialty Foods, based in Altura, Minnesota. History The company was founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow. The company's initial product, Bacon Salt, was conceived by Esch while considering the virtues of the drink Mitch Morgan, which is composed of a shot of bourbon and a piece of fried bacon as a garnish. After registering a trademark and purchasing an internet domain, Esch and Lefkow started producing Bacon Salt. They funded their company with a $5,000 loan from Lefkow's 3-year-old son Dean, who had won the money on America's Funniest Home Videos for a video in which he smacks his dad with a hit while playing T-Ball. Bacon Salt became a hit, and as of 2007 was sold in all 50 states and 26 other countries. Esch and Lefkow have since repaid the $5,000 loan. Marketing Initially Esch and Lefkow had no advertising budget and were met by resistance from food brokers and distributors who were unwilling to take a chance on an unknown product. Instead of traditional advertising, they sent jars of Bacon Salt to editors of food blogs and set up online profiles for Bacon Salt for online communities including MySpace and Facebook. The technique worked, and Esch and Lefkow received 800 orders in the first week for their three varieties (original, hickory, and peppered) which included an order from a customer in Texas for 36 jars. They sold 20,000 jars between their opening in July 2007 and November 2007. In addition to online marketing, Esch and Lefkow spent an average of 30 minutes per day phoning the media, and explaining why they should do a story about them. Mayonnaise Wrestling On October 28, 2008 J&D's Foods hosted The World's First Charity No Holds Barred Battle To The Death Mayonnaise Wrestling Match at Heavens night club in Seattle, Washington. The event featured three bouts of wrestling in 200 gallons of mayonnaise inside a ring made of old mattresses and hay bales. The main event included a fight between combatants dressed in a 7' foam Bacon suit and a giant jar of Mayonnaise. The event promoted the launch of their