The Launch

PS Seasoning, the Wisconsin-based flavor-development company that has supplied bulk seasoning to meat processors and butcher shops since 1977, added two wild game seasonings to its portfolio on Oct. 20: Tagged Out Backstrap Blend and Flocked and Loaded Wild Fowl Rub, each retailing at $8.99. The products join a Deer Camp Harvest Collection that now spans more than 70 SKUs, underscoring the company's push to capture spending from hunters who process their own harvest rather than outsource to commercial butchers.

The Market Opportunity

The addressable volume is substantial. U.S. hunters harvested more than 6.1 million whitetail deer in the 2024–25 season, according to the National Deer Association's 2026 Deer Report, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates waterfowl hunters took more than 14.9 million ducks and 3.6 million geese in the 2025–26 season. That scale of field-to-table processing creates recurring demand for purpose-formulated spice blends, casings, cures and equipment — the full stack PS Seasoning already sells through its collection. The wild game seasoning segment has historically been underserved by mainstream spice brands, which have tended to repurpose beef and poultry blends rather than reformulate for the leaner, more intensely flavored proteins that hunters bring home.

Tagged Out is built around garlic, onion and black pepper, with red and green bell peppers, tomato and Worcestershire. It targets backstrap, tenderloin, steaks and roasts from venison, elk, antelope and wild hog, and doubles as an all-purpose mix for burgers, chili and jerky. Flocked and Loaded pairs orange peel, brown sugar, paprika and ginger to complement the richer, darker meat of duck and goose, and works across upland birds including pheasant, grouse and wild turkey. "Venison is lean and cooks fast, and duck and goose have a richer flavor than chicken," said Jed Hanson, Executive Chef at PS Seasoning. "When the seasoning is built for the meat, it brings out the flavor hunters worked hard for instead of covering it up."

Collection and Distribution

Beyond the two new blends, the Deer Camp Harvest Collection reaches hunters at multiple price points, including the Deer Camp Set at $30.99 — a bundle comprising a Venison Jerky Kit, Wild Game Seasoning, Ten-Point Venison Chili Mix and Big Buck Bloody Mix. The company also provides free Field to Table resources: processing guides for sausage, jerky and snack sticks, plus a Meat Block Calculator that outputs exact seasoning, cure and water measurements based on raw meat weight, a tool more commonly associated with commercial meat processing operations than direct-to-consumer retail.

PS Seasoning, a subsidiary of Dervati — the Hanni family's food-experience platform that also encompasses smoker manufacturer Pro Smoker — produces more than 5,000 unique blends and over 80 million pounds of seasoning annually. That manufacturing scale positions the company to serve both the retail hunter market and foodservice and specialty-retail channels that have shown growing interest in wild game proteins. Both new seasonings are available through psseasoning.com and select retail locations, with a store locator accessible on the brand's site. As specialty ingredient suppliers expand into niche consumer segments, the hunt-focused SKU buildout reflects a broader industry trend of meeting highly engaged hobbyist processors where their culinary needs diverge sharply from mass-market options.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.