What started as an annual Christmas treat became a gift that just keeps giving as the meaty business venture Jerky Girl.

Kristi Warmenhoven鈥檚 family had a holiday tradition of homemade beef jerky, and she and husband Jesse decided that it shouldn鈥檛 be just a once-a-year thing.

鈥淢om used to make it at Christmas and we thought, why not have it all year?鈥� she said, which led to the launch of Jerky Girl, originally started in 2021 as a home-based business with sales done through a Facebook page.

Warmenhoven had another Facebook based venture, Baby Cakes, and decided to add a post about their gluten-free jerky to gauge public interest, which turns out there was. The fledgling business beefed up from there, with the dill pickle flavour quickly becoming their best seller.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 keep it in stock, and were still getting back orders for it,鈥� she said of what is still her top flavour, though she thinks the new mango habanero introduced in February could be a contender.

There are currently six flavours in the lineup, including original, teriyaki, maple bacon and cracked pepper 鈥榥 garlic in addition to the other two. And, while it eats just like your average jerky, in addition to her unique flavours, Warmenhoven uses a special, secret method to make it but is keeping that closely guarded.

As business picked up with local sales and further afield, with a big following in Kamloops, they started looking at having Jerky Girl stocked in stores. Adding that expansion to the already booming business meant the operation quickly outgrew Warmenhoven鈥檚 home kitchen, prompting her to start using a shared space, a commercial kitchen in Sicamous.

In-store sales also required an actual business name, which customers had already kind of given her.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a name, so people just started calling me 鈥榯he jerky girl鈥�,鈥� she explained. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 where the name came from.鈥�

The jerky is currently available at a number of Sicamous and Salmon Arm locations, as well as out of town at the Mara Foodliner, Eagle Bay Mercantile and the Sea Store during its season. Warmenhoven would, however, like to expand throughout the region, as visitors have tried the jerky but don鈥檛 want to make the drive to Sicamous, and shipping carries additional costs.

鈥淚t would be nice to branch out, maybe a little bit every year.鈥�

Find more information on Jerky Girl, including a full list of retailers, on under Gluten Free Beef Jerky (Jerky Girl).

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