Biting into a piece of Figure Ate’s biltong for the first time was unlike any other kind of meat stick Kyle Sullivan had ever tasted.
“The tenderness of the beef really blew me away,” Sullivan told the Sun. “It just has almost like a melt-in-your-mouth texture to it, which is really awesome.”
To infinity
Figure Ate is available in stores nationwide, including in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. To purchase online, discover recipes, and find a store locator, visit figureatefoods.com.
When put up against around 1,200 entries nationwide this year, critics from the Good Foods Awards agreed. Chefs, food journalists, and other industry professionals voted Figure Ate’s two flavors of biltong as two of the 242 winning goods after a blind taste test. The biltong was the only meat-based success story in the snacks category, with fellow winners being recognized for products like roasted almonds, fig bars, vanilla bean granola, and cookies. Winners were also judged on supply chain sourcing, environmental practices, and production standards.
The biltong also won at the Good Foods Awards in 2023 shortly after the product launched. A minimum of three years is required before winners may submit again, and after waiting it out, Figure Ate submitted and won again this year.
“To me, the blind taste test side of things really just means the most. For folks to have never tried biltong—have never tried our biltong—and then are immediately responding to it, I think it just speaks for itself in terms of how unique it is,” Sullivan said.
He’s the director of marketing for White Buffalo Land Trust, the Jalama Canyon-based nonprofit associated with Figure Ate. Sullivan said it means a lot to his team for their products to be highly rated in a process that industry insiders genuinely respect.
White Buffalo launched its food brand in 2020, and all proceeds directly benefit the nonprofit, which is dedicated to restoring the ecosystem through regenerative agriculture. The name Figure Ate symbolizes the cycling of nutrients returning to the land and coming back to life.
“That was one of the things that we set out to do when we started Figure Ate, is we wanted just to diversify our income streams coming into the nonprofit instead of solely relying on philanthropy,” Sullivan said. “Like, ‘How can we be a little more entrepreneurial and create ventures that support the impact that we’re trying to make as a nonprofit but also can supply funding as well?’”
White Buffalo Land Trust is also known for its living agricultural laboratory at Jalama Canyon Ranch and its artist-in-residence program. Figure Ate is one more avenue for the organization to promote the regenerative food cycle.
Preserving meat to make biltong is common in South Africa. It’s unlike most beef jerky, which is tougher and cooked with preservatives.
“It’s basically a way of air-drying beef or other meats, where you’re just adding vinegar, salt, and a few different spices, and that’s it,” Sullivan explained. “Then it’s just air drying with time.”
The method fits with White Buffalo’s motto because it’s made with natural preservation methods. Though the ranch doesn’t have enough cattle to sustain biltong production, Sullivan said the group sources from other regenerative farmers.
Figure Ate makes two flavors: original and spiced. Sullivan’s favorite is the spiced biltong, but he said the original is the best seller.
The original recipe uses coriander and black pepper. Added in the spiced version is cayenne and garlic. After being air-dried for 14 days, each 2-ounce pack has 32 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar.
There’s another special ingredient in both flavors, which was the debut product that Figure Ate launched and a key part when making biltong.
Persimmon vinegar was what started the Figure Ate brand in 2020. Jesse and Ana Smith, who work at White Buffalo, developed the concept by observing persimmons on their farm. The trees required little water, were resistant to pests, and grew well in the Central Coast climate.
“They had an abundant crop one year of persimmons from their farm, and they brought it over to Ventura Spirits to create a persimmon brandy. Then, for some reason, a bucket got left in the corner and kind of forgotten about,” Sullivan said. “They came back to it like months later, and it had fermented all the way to vinegar, and it was kind of this like happy accident.”
Sullivan often adds it to salad dressings for a hint of sweetness, but there are many ways to use it. White Buffalo recommends a drizzle of persimmon vinegar over a grilled peach and burrata salad; a couple dashes in tangy chimichurri sauce to slather on vegetables, steak, or potatoes; and a persimmon vinegar twist on classic pesto for pasta or caprese salads.
The persimmons are grown in California and naturally fermented.
“It’s more of that fruity, floral that’s kind of nice,” Sullivan said. “It’s subtle, but it still has that bright pop of a vinegar. Definitely just a little different hint to it.”
Figure Ate may start looking to create more goods in the future and has already explored different ideas. Its goal remains to bring in more funds that support White Buffalo Land Trust’s mission.
“At this point, we are in markets across the United States, so we’re in over 200 stores now, from the East Coast to Pacific Northwest to California, and Thrive Market, which is a big online market,” Sullivan said. “[We’re] really excited about that kind of growing footprint of where it’s available. And then we also have our direct-to-customer sales too through our website, which has been growing as well, so it’s been great to see that impact.”
Staff Writer Madison White wants to enjoy grilled peaches with burrata and persimmon vinegar all summer long. Send grill master tips to mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 2 – July 9, 2026.
