A 130-year old central Pennsylvania meat company is smoking up a line of flavorful craft products.

Weaver’s of Wellsville in York County has built its business on bologna and smoked beef sticks made from five-generation family recipes. The smoked meats, big sellers from Mechanicsburg to Greencastle, are sold in four states including Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Recently, the Weaver family figured it was time to update the line with a new flavor profile. They are riding the craft beverage and sauce trend by collaborating with four artisan companies.

“It’s going after a new target audience,” said Seth Weaver, fifth generation owner. “You have to offer people something they haven’t seen before.”

The 8-ounce Artisan Collaborations line started arriving this week at stores including Giant Food Stores, Weis Markets and Karns Quality Foods, as well as independent grocers such as Pronio’s Market in Hershey. The four-packs sell for about $5.

The line borrows from the company’s refrigerated Sweet Beef Sticks, identical to sweet bologna and developed for easy grab-and-go snacking. The meats are smoked over an open fire using hickory wood.

Weaver’s also sells bologna, ham, smoked turkey sausage, beef jerky and cheese, among other products. The recipes have been passed down generation to generation.

The new sticks grew out of a conversation about the company possibly partnering with a brewery, Weaver said.

“It has been a while since we have rebranded or released a new product line, but we want to tap into the excitement around craft beverages and sauces,” he said.

They solicited customers for feedback and one flavor stood out - apple.

Instead of working with an orchard, they turned to Big Hill Cider Works in Gardners to collaborate on the first recipe, a hard cider stick. Next they developed a Carolina Barbecue Stick with Bar-B-Que Beast of Waynesboro, Black Pepper Whiskey Stick with Thistle Finch Distillery in Lancaster and a Hot Honey stick with The Spicy Shark from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

All four of the companies have diverse backgrounds, Weaver said, noting Bar-B-Que Beast is operated by two female veterans while Spicy Shark donates proceeds to shark conservation. Big Hill is operated by four friends who all grow apples in their own orchards and Thistle Finch is Lancaster City’s only distillery.

While conducting a sampling recently, Weaver said many people commented about how nobody in central Pennsylvania is selling smoked meat sticks that are actually hot and “something that kicks you when you try it.”

Weaver said the new line sets the company apart from its competitors, many who produce similar smoked meat products.

“Everyone we ended up doing the project with was very excited,” he said.