Protein-packed snack purveyor Slim Jim has partnered up with the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Boucher – nicknamed “Slim Duck” – in a pivotal move for the brand as parent company Conagra Foods eyes growth.

“The snacking industry is continuously growing and we see this partnership as a way to reach out to the next generation,” says Andrea Stodart, marketing director for snacks at the company.

“Protein snacks are definitely becoming an increasingly important part of our snacking portfolio and we felt this was a great opportunity to make some investments behind the Slim Jim brand in Canada.”

Slim Jim, known for its catchphrase, “snap into a Slim Jim,” is aiming to “mimic the success” of a similar strategy used by another Conagra Foods snacking brand, Bigs Seeds, which tapped into the celebrity appeal of another Toronto sports star – the Blue Jays’ Vlad Guerrero Jr. – to promote its products, Stodart says.

“We’re looking to make [Boucher] the centrepiece of our marketing activations for Slim Jim in the foreseeable future,” she says. “We really want to create excitement about the brand, and we feel like Chris can help us do that.”

In part, Stodart believes the Toronto Raptors player will be a good ambassador “because he happens to really like the brand.”

“It’s not a forced fit. As a result, it gives us that opportunity to have a natural partnership,” she explains.

The partnership will “live predominantly in-store and online,” according to Stodart, with Slim Jim looking to leverage the player’s Instagram and Twitter profile in order to “to bring the brand closer to his fans in Canada.”