The state of Wisconsin is known for many things. Our dairy production, beer, and of course sausage. There are many sausage manufacturers in the state, and one of them is well known throughout the world.
The Johnsonville Sausage Company in Sheboygan Falls has been supplying the world with high-quality sausage products since 1945, and according to Associate Director of Earned Media, Stephanie Dlugopolski, the way they got started really is a great American story.
“It started out with Alison and Ralph F. Stayer, who always wanted to start their own business,” Stephanie explained. “They didn’t have anything in mind, and were looking at options, and had an appointment to see a facility that was a flower shop. That didn’t work out, and someone said, ‘There is a butcher shop over here.’ So, they looked at this butcher shop and decided they would go into the meat business.”
Despite having no butcher experience, the duo was able to run their successful company within the unincorporated village of Johnsonville, which is in the Sheboygan Falls area. They were selling all kinds of meat but shifted to brats after noticing a trend. Stephanie explained, “There was a customer that was buying 5 lbs. of hamburger, and 1 lb. of bratwurst. Eventually, he started buying 5 lbs. of bratwurst and 1 lb. of ground beef, and so Ralph and Alice knew that they had something.”
As for why their brats sold so well, she said “Typically, bratwurst was made with scraps of meat, but they decided to make theirs with the premium cuts of the pork. They went that route, had their own recipe, and the rest is history as they say.”
Johnsonville now sells high-quality sausage products all over the world, and have even created specialty products for specific markets both in the US and in the Asia markets. While these products are not available everywhere, they can all be found at one location. “The Johnsonville Marketplace Store is open right across from our headquarters on County Road J in Sheboygan Falls, and right now it is the only place in the US where you can get every type of sausage we make in the US and sell in the US,” Stephanie told SeehaferNews.com. “A lot of seasonal favorites that you cannot get [in stores] year-round are available [at the marketplace] year-round. We also make a lot of US regional favorites that are not sold in the Midwest that people can get.”
To learn more about the history of Johnsonville or to see their full array of sausage products, go to Johnsoville.com, or visit the Johnsonville Marketplace, located at N6877 Rio Road in Sheboygan Falls.
