"The key to success apparently is getting Jon Stewart to bad-mouth your product."

On his Feb. 25 show, Stewart slapped a jar of Baconnaise on his faux news desk during his commentary about President Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress. Stewart cited Baconnaise as an example of the laziness of the American people and said it was "for people who want heart disease but are too lazy to actually make the bacon."

Then he dipped a pancake-wrapped sausage on a stick into some Baconnaise Lite, gagged when he ate it and described the taste in a way that can't be printed in a family newspaper.

"It was a significant turning point in the course of the business," Esch said. "The key to success apparently is getting Jon Stewart to bad-mouth your product."