Maine’s last red hot dog maker has seen production of the iconic summer cook-out staple soar by as much as 70 percent in the last decade.
Bangor-based W.A. Bean & Sons makes an estimated 650,000 to 700,000 pounds of red dogs annually, according to Sean Smith, the company’s general manager and director of sales.
A decade ago, the company made only about 400,000 pounds of the distinctive hot dog annually.
Red hot dogs, often called “red snappers,” are known for their fluorescent red color that’s created using dye and the thick casing that gives the sausage its distinctive “snap” when you bite into it.
While plenty of companies suffered during the pandemic, demand for red snappers appeared to never wane. They have joined the ranks of blueberries, lobster and whoopie pies as an iconic Maine food, despite other states having hot dogs with a similar hue or snappy consistency.
Founded in 1860 on Ohio Street, W.A. Bean & Sons moved to Bomarc Road in 1968, where it can still be found today. The family-owned company is known for making red snappers in addition to multiple kinds of sausages, deli meats, hams and smoked poultry.
The company used to be among a few red snapper producers in the state, but Smith said other Maine-based competitors were slowly bought by larger conglomerates that moved production out of state.
“We’re still a local company and the last one standing in Maine,” Smith said.
Smith suspects the surge in red snapper production stems from the company expanding its distribution branch beyond Maine and New England.
“We’re lucky that we’re carried by Hannaford, so that helps our footprint,” Smith said. “In 2014, our products weren’t available in stores north of Millinocket. Today, you can find us in Caribou.”
The company has also made an effort to expand into the southern Maine market, particularly with a focus on the greater Portland area. Today, 90 percent of Maine Hannaford locations carry the company’s red snappers, according to Smith.
He also believes people appreciate the product being made by a local company.
“We’re known for a good, quality product and it’s a product we take a lot of pride in,” Smith said. “It’s the taste of home for a lot of people. If you’re from Maine, you know what a red snapper is.”
At the Hannaford on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor, about 5 miles from W.A. Bean & Sons, red hot dogs have gained popularity in recent years and are bought by loyal customers year round, said Gary Mehuren, a meat cutter at the store for 47 years.
“Everybody likes the red hot dogs,” Mehuren said.
Curious tourists will occasionally see the neon hot dogs in the store’s meat department and ask Mehuren about them, but are generally hesitant to try them once they hear the color is created with dye.
W.A. Bean & Sons distributes red snappers to stores as far away as upstate New York, Pennsylvania and even South Carolina.
The company even formed a connection with an elementary school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where students try foods from different states. One year, the school reached out to the company to order red snappers for the lesson, and the taste test became an annual tradition.
“Now, every year I get a picture of a bunch of second graders in Michigan trying our red snappers,” Smith said. “It’s fun, it’s a niche product, and it’s something we take a lot of pride in.”
