Johnsonville Brats in China

"Charlie Murphy's cooking Johnsonville Brats -- in Shanghai!"

Brats in China?

Amazing.

Sheboygan Falls -- Getting consumers to taste the product has been a key to Johnsonville Sausage's marketing strategy for years.

Now the Wisconsin-based sausage maker is taking the effort to a new level, with Orya, a chain of bratwurst restaurants in Shanghai.

China is an interesting place to try to sell brats, said Bill Morgan, Johnsonville's president.

The question, whenever Johnsonville tries to start selling in a new country is, he said: "What would be a good way to get product in consumers' mouths?"

After seeing that Japanese restaurants were featuring its brats on menus, Johnsonville decided to open its own restaurant in Shanghai, devoted mainly to bratwurst. The company found a Chinese businessman who had opened McDonald's franchises there to oversee the new brat restaurant chain.

There are two Orya restaurants open now, and Johnsonville plans to have five soon, with a goal of 30 in the future. Brochures explaining sausage from America are placed in the restaurants.

"It's going terrific," Morgan said.

Selling brats in China is a whole new frontier, a potentially enormous market.

If McDonald's can make it there, why not brats?

"What would be a good way to get product in consumers' mouths?"

Not with chopsticks.

I like the thought of a product being sold in China with a "made in America" label.