The First Hot Honey Bacon Ever Made Is Finally Hitting Grocery Shelves

Smithfield Foods, the company behind some of the grocery store's best deli meats, hot dogs, and sausages, is bringing a new flavor to one of its most popular products. It's a sweet and spicy collaboration between Smithfield and Mike's Hot Honey, adding a peppery and sweet glaze to hickory smoked bacon to create a game-changer. Smithfield Mike's Hot Honey Bacon lands on store shelves this month nationwide.

Bacon goes well with everything, from casseroles and mashed potatoes to a shot worth savoring: a PB & bacon-washed whiskey. It's easy to pair with spicy foods, too, like in bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. The sweet heat of Smithfield Mike's Hot Honey Bacon brings that same pop of spice without any other ingredients. In an October 2 press release, Smithfield hailed the bacon as a "first-of-its-kind innovation." The sugar in honey caramelizes as the bacon cooks, creating a whole extra layer of flavor alongside the heat. You can get a full range of flavors with a complex and warm, umami-laced aroma by frying up Smithfield's Mike's Hot Honey Bacon all on its own — and we expect it goes great alongside a stack of copycat Sizzler's Cheese Toast and some fried eggs.

Smithfield is the one of the largest bacon producers in the U.S. The company processes about 1.5 million pounds of bacon every year, but this is the first year the company has leveled up the game with a sweet and spicy glaze. Smithfield isn't releasing the new flavor of bacon quietly, either. Mike's Hot Honey Bacon is part of a bigger campaign that puts the spotlight directly on Smithfield's packaged meats and value-added products, specifically its pork products.

In August 2025, the company doubled down on pork advertising, launching the "We Speak Pork" campaign. The advertising campaign puts the spotlight on the company's fun side and puts bacon front-and center, introducing Smithfield's entire line of packaged bacon. It's an effort to re-introduce Gen Z and Millennials to Smithfield's pork selection, and the company has also put together a few recipes to get home chefs thinking about bacon, like a recipe for Oven Roasted Mike's Hot Honey Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders and Mike's Hot Honey Bacon Brownie Bites, plus a turkey, and ham club sandwich that would really shine if you used the new sweet-hot bacon fresh on the shelves.