Photo / Courtesy of Singing Pastures
Singing Pastures showcased its new logo and package design on "Greenlight Maine."
July 6, 2025
Midcoast meat snacks maker brings home the bacon in 'Greenlight Maine' season finale
Photo / Courtesy of “Greenlight Maine”
From left, Julene Gervais of "Greenlight Maine" presents the first place award to Holly Arbuckle, CEO and co-founder of Singing Pastures, in the Season 10 series finale.
Singing Pastures, a Newcastle-based producer of pasture-raised meat snacks, won the $25,000 Season 10 “Greenlight Maine” cash prize. Owners Holly and John Arbuckle plan to use the money to fund a new website ahead of a rebrand and expansion.
In the series finale that aired over the weekend, Singing Pastures beat out two other finalists. Maine Laboratories, the state's first accredited PFAS testing facility, secured $10,000 for placing second. And Nor’Easter Oyster Co., last year's Top Gun Showcase champion in a statewide contest by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, claimed $5,000 for finishing third on "Greenlight Maine."
Singing Pastures makes pork sticks and salami from pigs that are pasture-raised on family farms (including its own) without antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants, with plans to add beef to a rebranded product line.
"Singing Pastures' victory is a true testament to their commitment to sustainable, high-quality food, and the positive impact they're making in Maine," said Julene Gervais, executive co-producer and host of “Greenlight Maine. "This is precisely what ‘Greenlight Maine’ champions: fostering economic development and nurturing a dynamic, diverse business landscape right here in Maine."
This year's grand finale, co-produced by Gervais and Nat Thompson, was broadcast over the weekend on television channels based in Portland, Bangor and Presque Isle.
Judges were Carlos Mello of the Finance Authority of Maine, Gavin Robinson of Bangor Savings Bank and John Karp of Maine Technology Institute.
The series will be shown on Maine Public this fall.
Perfecting the pitch
Holly Arbuckle told Mainebz that she heard about “Greenlight Maine” from Lisa Liberatore, a former mentor and program manager at the Bangor-based Scratchpad Accelerator. (Liberatore, honored on the Mainebiz Next List in 2019, recently left Scratchpad to become program manager at UpStart Maine, an innovation hub in the Bangor region.)
“I worked with her to hone my three-minute pitch for the contest,” Arbuckle said. “One of the things I’ve learned is how important it is to distill your ideas into a quick, easy-to-understand story.”
Expansion plans
Singing Pastures plans to use its winnings from "Greenlight Maine" to help pay for a new website that will showcase its rebranded product line.
The expanded line, to be sold in fun, playful packages, consists of Original Grassfed Beef Sticks; Original Uncured Bacon & Pork; and Juicy Pineapple Pork Sticks.
Arbuckle said the new site is being designed by Pulp + Wire, a Portland-based agency that worked with Singing Pastures on its rebrand.
“We are launching our new product line nationally this fall, and need to update our value proposition and branding in all our marketing,” Arbuckle said.
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