Archer Meat Snacks adds chicken mini sticks to expand shelf space

Archer Meat Snacks is using chicken to pry open more room in a protein-snacks aisle that already feels packed. The Los Angeles-based brand marked June 16 with its biggest product expansion yet, rolling out Oven-Roasted Chicken Mini Sticks, its first chicken item, alongside a new Sweet BBQ Beef Mini Sticks flavor and a broader 8-count Mini Stick multipack lineup.

The chicken move matters because it goes after a small but useful gap in the set. Meat snacks have long been dominated by beef and turkey, while chicken has been underrepresented in packaged stick formats. Archer is betting that a chicken mini stick can stand out without changing the basic job of the category: portable protein with low sugar and a salty, savory profile that plays better for everyday snacking than a sweet bar.

The product specs are built for that pitch. Target lists Archer Jerky Chicken Mini Meat Sticks at $7.99 for a 4-ounce, 8-count pack. The listing says each stick has 5 grams of protein, 0 grams of total sugars, 30 calories and certified gluten-free positioning. Archer’s own product page says the chicken mini sticks are made with all-natural chicken. That combination gives the brand a cleaner value story for households that want snack convenience without paying up for a single-serve impulse buy every time.

Retail placement is the other half of the play. Archer said Target will carry its full 8-count Mini Stick line, while Walmart added about 7,500 new Archer shelf placements. That is the kind of shelf math that matters in a crowded category: more facings, more pack sizes and more chances to catch both the grab-and-go shopper and the family stocking a pantry. Multipacks usually win on value, and value is the lever that keeps meat snacks moving when shoppers start comparing ounces, price per stick and how long a pack will last at home.

Archer has been building toward this for a while. In 2025, its Beef & Cheese Mini Sticks were already showing up at Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Publix and other chains in 16-count and 8-count formats, and the company was said to be aiming to top $300 million in annual sales that year. The chicken launch suggests Archer is not chasing novelty for its own sake. It is trying to turn whitespace into shelf space, one multipack at a time.