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Headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, U.S., Hormel Foods is a publicly traded multinational food processing enterprise and S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat. It operates more than 40 top-ranked consumer brands whose products are distributed across over 80 countries and regions globally, covering processed meat, shelf-stable pantry goods, and packaged snack segments.
Key moments
1891Founded as George A. Hormel & Co., starting local meatpacking operations
1927Launched the world's first commercially available canned ham product
1937Invented the iconic SPAM canned luncheon meat, which later became a widely supplied ration for Allied troops in World War II
1986Completed acquisition of leading turkey product brand Jennie-O
1993Rebranded from its original meatpacking focused name to Hormel Foods to reflect its expanded CPG business scope
1994Entered the Chinese market, later launching localized processed meat SKUs adapted to local consumer tastes
2013 - 2018Completed a series of high-profile brand acquisitions including Skippy peanut butter and Planters nuts to expand its non-meat product portfolio
Hormel competes in fragmented global food markets against three distinct groups of peers: large generalist CPG conglomerates, regional specialized processed meat producers, and low-cost private-label manufacturers. Its core competitive advantage comes from the unmatched cross-generational cultural recognition of its legacy flagship brands, most notably SPAM, which has earned enduring niche popularity in markets across East Asia, Hawaii, and Pacific Island nations far out of proportion to its canned luncheon meat category.
Nearly half of Hormel's owned brands hold top 1 or 2 market share positions in their respective niches, insulating the company from the margin compression common for generic commodity meat producers
Its diversified portfolio balances the cyclical price volatility of raw meat supplies with steady, inelastic consumer demand for shelf-stable pantry staples and packaged snacks, reducing overall business risk
To counter low-cost regional competitors that undercut prices for conventional processed meat items, Hormel has invested heavily in region-specific product development, such as localized flavored sausage lines for the Chinese market, to capture premium mid-to-high end consumer segments
Hormel Foods stands as a highly respected, category-defining player in the global packaged food processing space, with brand equity built over more than a century of consistent product delivery and unexpected cross-cultural resonance. Its portfolio of more than 40 top-ranked consumer brands has embedded itself in the daily routines of households across North America and dozens of international markets, anchored by flagship offerings that carry near-unmatched generational recognition in their niche product segments. As a long-tenured S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat, the brand has cultivated deep trust not just with end consumers, but with retail partners, suppliers, and investors, creating a stable foundation of goodwill that insulates it from many of the volatility risks facing newer food industry entrants. Unlike many CPG conglomerates that rely heavily on mass-market generic offerings, Hormel has built outsized brand loyalty around its unique cultural footholds, most notably the SPAM line of canned luncheon meat, which has developed a dedicated, cult-like consumer following far beyond the core canned protein category it occupies.
Brand Leadership
Score: 82/100
Hormel holds top 3 market share positions for multiple core product lines across the U.S. processed meat segment, with its flagship SPAM product commanding over 70% of the global canned luncheon meat market, cementing its status as a category-defining leader that most competitors cannot match for long-term consumer mindshare.
Consumer Interaction
Score: 76/100
The brand maintains steady cross-generational engagement, with organic viral social media content centered on SPAM's diverse cultural uses, from Hawaiian musubi to popular East Asian home cooking recipes, earning millions of annual impressions, alongside long-running local community nutrition initiatives that build positive grassroots brand sentiment.
Brand Momentum
Score: 71/100
Hormel has posted consistent low-single-digit annual organic revenue growth for 12 consecutive quarters as of 2026, with recent targeted product line expansions into plant-based protein and premium portable snack offerings helping it capture new younger consumer demographics without eroding loyalty from its existing long-time customer base.
Brand Stability
Score: 91/100
As an S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat that has increased its annual dividend payout for more than 50 consecutive years, Hormel's brand identity is almost entirely insulated from major reputational or market volatility risks, with extremely low customer churn rates for its core brand portfolio even during periods of widespread food price inflation.
Brand Age Heritage
Score: 94/100
Founded in 1891, the Hormel corporate brand has over 130 years of continuous operating history, with many of its top sub-brands dating back 70+ years, giving it an unmatched generational trust advantage that newer market entrants in the packaged food space cannot easily replicate.
Industry Category Profile
Score: 78/100
Hormel is widely recognized as a benchmark for operational excellence in the global processed food sector, regularly cited in industry reports for its industry-leading food safety track record and public progress on sustainable ingredient sourcing, positioning it as a highly respected peer among major global CPG food companies.
Globalization Reach
Score: 72/100
Hormel products are distributed across more than 80 countries and regions, with disproportionate brand penetration and cultural popularity for its SPAM line in East Asian, Pacific Island, and Oceanian markets, though it still retains significant untapped room to expand its market share in large European and South American consumer food segments.
This brand value assessment is generated with AI-powered analytical reasoning to synthesize public brand performance, market penetration, and verified consumer sentiment data for illustrative reference only. All non-audited figures presented are for general informational purposes and do not represent official audited brand value metrics. For formal, fully verified audited brand value evaluations and official brand ranking entries, please contact the World Brand Lab directly to access authoritative, independently verified reporting.
Austin, Minnesota
location country
U.S.
area served
Worldwide
brands
Applegate
Arriba
Chi-Chi's
Columbus Craft Meats
*Corn Nuts
Dinty Moore
Don Miguel
Dona Maria
El Torito
Evolve
Fontanini
Happy Little Plants
Herbox
Herdez
Hormel
House of Tsang
Jennie-O
Justin's
La Victoria
Lloyd's
Mary Kitchen
Planters
Skippy
Spam
Stagg Chili
Wholly Guacamole
key people
Jeff Ettinger (interim CEO)
Bill Newlands (chairman)
products
Deli meat, ethnic foods, pantry foods, Spam
revenue
US$12.1 billion (2025)
operating income
US$719 million (2025)
net income
US$478 million (2025)
assets
US$13.4 billion (2025)
equity
US$7.90 billion (2025)
num employees
20,000 (2025)
divisions
Grocery products
Refrigerated foods
Jennie-O turkey store
Specialty foods
International
subsid
Applegate Farms, LLC
Beijing Hormel Co. Ltd.
Bruke Marketing Corporation
Cidade do Sol
Columbus Manufacturing Inc.
Dan's Prize Inc.
Fontanini Foods
Hormel Foods Australia Pty. Ltd.
Hormel Foods Canada
Jennie-O
Justin's, LLC
Megamex Foods, LLC
Okinawa Hormel Ltd.
The Purefoods-Hormel Company Inc.
Sadler's Smokehouse
homepage
hormelfoods.com
footnotes
Financials as of October 26, 2025.‡R1R‡
Hormel Foods Corporation, doing business as Hormel Foods or simply Hormel, is an American multinationalfood processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company.The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, chicken, beef and lamb products to consumers, adding Spam in 1937.By the 1980s, Hormel began offering a wider range of packaged and refrigerated foods.The company changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in 1993 and uses the Hormel brand on many of its products; the company's other brands include Planters, Columbus Craft Meats, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O, and Skippy. The company's products are available in over 80 countries.
History
1890–1920
The company was founded as George A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel in 1891. It changed its name to Hormel Foods in 1993.
Born 1860 in Buffalo, New York, Hormel worked in a Chicagoslaughterhouse before becoming a traveling wool and hide buyer. His travels took him to Austin and he decided to settle there. He borrowed $500 and opened a meat business.[2] Hormel handled the production side of the business and his partner, Albert Friedrich, handled the retail.Their partnership dissolved in 1891 as Hormel started his own meat packing operation in northeast Austin in a creamery building on the Cedar River.[3][4][5]
To make ends meet in those early days, Hormel continued to trade in hides, eggs, wool, and poultry. The name was first used in 1903. In the first decade of the 20th century distribution centers were opened in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and Birmingham.
In 1915, Hormel began selling dry sausages under the names of Cedar Cervelat, Holsteiner and Noxall Salami. Hormel products began appearing in national magazines, such as Good Housekeeping, as early as 1916.[6]
1920–1950
In 1921, when George's son Jay Hormel returned from service in World War I, he discovered that assistant controller Cy Thomson had embezzled $1,187,000 from the company over the previous ten years.[7] The scandal provided George Hormel with additional incentive to professionalize his company.He did so by arranging for more reliable capital management, by dismissing unproductive employees, and by continuing to develop new products,[8] reportedly with the mantra "Originate, don't imitate".[9] In 1926, the company introduced Hormel Flavor-Sealed Ham, America's first canned ham, and added a canned chicken product line in 1928.[7] Throughout the 1930s, Hormel ads were featured on the radio program The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.[10]
In 1933, workers, led by itinerant butcher Frank Ellis, formed the Independent Union of All Workers and conducted one of the nation's first successful
1950–2000
During six years of the 1950s, Hormel Foods used an advertising campaign produced by Al Sheehan where pretty girls in white cars sold the company's meat products.[17][18]
In 1959, Hormel was the first meatpacker to receive the Seal of Approval of the American Humane Society for its practice of anesthetizing animals before slaughter.[19][20]
Little Sizzlers sausages were introduced in 1961 and Cure 81 hams were introduced in 1963. Little Sizzler's sausage has been discontinued per 10/10/19 email from Hormel's Customer Service.[21]
Not-So-Sloppy-Joe Sloppy Joe sauce made its debut in 1985.[22]
2000–2010
The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, was opened in 2001.[29] That same year, Hormel Foods acquired the Turkey Store, the business was combined with Jennie-O Foods to form Jennie-O Turkey Store.[30]
According to Triple Pundit, Hormel Foods began CSR reporting in 2006.[31] The company has been included in Corporate Responsibility magazine's list of the "100 best corporate citizens" for 10 consecutive years.[32]
In 2008 an article in the New York Times, "SPAM Turns Serious and Hormel Turns Out More", detailed an overwhelming spike in the demand for SPAM, perhaps due to the flagging economy.[33] In 2009 Hormel and Herdez del Fuerte created the joint venture MegaMex Foods to market and distribute Mexican food in the United States.
2010–present
In 2011, Hormel Foods announced a two-for-one stock split.[40] In 2013, Hormel Foods purchased Skippy—the best-selling brand of peanut butter in China and the second-best-selling brand in the world—from Unilever for $700 million; the sale included Skippy's American and Chinese factories.[41]
In May 2015, Hormel revealed it would acquire meat-processing firm Applegate Farms for around $775 million, expanding its range of meat products.[42]
In 2015, the Hormel Health Labs division of Hormel Foods launched its Hormel Vital Cuisine line of packaged ready to eat meals, nutrition shakes and whey protein powders geared towards cancer patients and made available for home delivery. The line was developed in concert with three parties, as "Hormel brought food formulation, packaging and shelf stability knowledge, (chef de cuisine) Ron DeSantis brought taste and texture expertise, and the Cancer Nutrition Consortium offered the nutritional framework."[43]
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic
On April 18, 2020, local health officials shut down a Hormel Foods plant in Rochelle, Illinois, that employed 800 people after at least 24 workers tested positive for coronavirus.[62] On April 21, Hormel announced the closure of three meat processing plants, including its Alma Foods plant in Alma, Kansas.That plant employs about 100 workers and at least one worker tested positive for the coronavirus.[63] Hormel also closed its Don Miguel Foods factory in Dallas, Texas, which is a joint venture with a Mexico City company, Herdez Del Fuerte.The plant made pork, beef and chicken burritos and tacos, and employed about 700 workers.[64] On April 24, Hormel announced the closure of two plants in Willmar, Minnesota, after 14 workers tested positive for coronavirus.These Jennie-O turkey plants employed over 1,200 workers.[65]
Leadership timeline
MegaMex Foods
In 2009, California-based MegaMex Foods was created as a joint venture by US-based Hormel and Mexico-based Herdez del Fuerte to manufacture, market and distribute Mexican-style sauces and related other foods in the United States.[75] Initial brands included Chi-Chi's, La Victoria, Búfalo, Doña María, and Herdez.
Don Miguel Foods Corporation was acquired by MegaMex in 2010. Don Miguel manufactured fresh and frozen prepared foods, such as mini tacos, flautas, taquitos, empanadas, burritos and roller grill items.[76]
In 2011, MegaMex acquired Texas-based Fresherized Foods, one of the largest provider of refrigerated guacamole in the United States and the manufacturer of Wholly Guacamole, Wholly Salsa, and Wholly Queso.[77]
In 2021, MegaMex expanded their offerings to the wholesale food service industry by debuting their Tres Cocinas brand of pepper pastes.
Controversy
In 2013, an Office of Inspector General Audit Report raised ethical concerns about Hormel's participation in the USDA pilot program known as HIMP, which allegedly enabled high-speed slaughter of pigs with reduced oversight.[79]
In 2016, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) raised a lawsuit against Hormel for misleading advertising. They claimed that products marked as "natural" or listed under the Natural Choice brand were not produced with any higher health or animal welfare standards.[80]
Hormel Chili and Spam were introduced in 1936 and 1937 respectively.[7] In 1938, Jay C. Hormel introduced the "Joint Savings Plan" which allowed employees to share in the profits of the company.[14]
By 1942, George and Jay established the Hormel Foundation to act as trustees of the family trusts.[15] The Foundation funded the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota, initially started with a study of the food value of soybeans.[16] The institute's scope later grew towards studying nutrition, animal diseases and food technology.Hormel's production increased to aid in World War II and 65% of its products were purchased by the U.S. government by 1945. founder George Hormel died in March 1946 at age 85.
The following year, Hormel Foods introduced the Top Shelf line of microwavable non-frozen products.
The company added to their poultry offerings by purchasing Chicken by George, created by former Miss AmericaPhyllis George, in 1988.
That same year, Hormel Foods also introduced microwave bacon.[25] In 1984, Hormel introduced the Frank 'n Stuff brand of stuffed hot dogs.[8]
In August 1985, Hormel workers went on strike at the Hormel headquarters in Austin, Minnesota. In the early 1980s, recession impacted several meatpacking companies, decreasing demand and increasing competition which led smaller and less-efficient companies to go out of business. In an effort to keep plants from closing, many instituted wage cuts. Wilson Food Company declared bankruptcy in 1983, allowing them to cut wages from $10.69 to $6.50 and significantly reduce benefits. Hormel Foods had avoided such drastic action, but by 1985, pressure to stay competitive remained.[26]
Workers had already labored under a wage freeze and dangerous working conditions, leading to many cases of repetitive strain injury.When management demanded a 23% wage cut from the workers they decided to begin the strike.[27] It became one of the longest strikes of the 1980s.
The local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local P-9, led the strike, but was not supported by their parent union.A commemorative mural painted by Mike Alewitz and P-9 workers during the strike was destroyed by the UFCW months after the strike ended.[28] The strike gained national attention and led to a widely publicized consumer boycott of Hormel products. The strike ended in June 1986, after lasting 10 months.
In September 2008, animal rights organization PETA released a video recorded over the course of three months showing workers at a pig factory farm in Iowa abusing pigs.[36] The factory farm was owned by Natural Pork Production II LLP of Iowa until August 18, 2008, at which point ownership had transferred to MowMar LLP.[37] Hormel spokeswoman Julie Henderson Craven, who responded to the PETA video, called the videotaped abuses "completely unacceptable".[38] In their 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report, Hormel Foods stated that all suppliers are expected to comply with several welfare programs to ensure that the hogs purchased are treated humanely.Because of the investigation, several employees of the farm were fired and six individuals faced charges due to the abuse.[39]
In 2015, SPAMMY became available for purchase under Title I for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) feeding programs and Title II for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs under the name fortified poultry-based spread (FPBS).[44] Four years earlier, the company had made an initial three-year commitment to deliver 1 million cans of this product to in-need families in Guatemala.[45]
Also in 2015, after an undercover investigation by a group known as Compassion Over Killing at an Austin, Minnesota, processing plant, Hormel Foods announced it was "bringing humane handling officers to a Quality Pork Processors Incorporated facility to ensure compliance with its own animal welfare standards".It has also told QPP to provide extra training, enhance compliance oversight and increase third-party auditing.[46][47] According to Reuters, "in one scene of the video, pigs covered in feces or pus-filled abscesses are sent down the plant's conveyor belt. At one point, a knife is used to cut open abscesses on dead pigs."[46]
In 2016, Peak Rock Capital purchased the Diamond Crystal Brands Inc. unit, purchased by Hormel in 2002 for $155 million from Imperial Sugar.[48][49] Also in 2016, Hormel acquired the nut butter producer Justin's for 280 million.[50]
In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the company was named as one of the Human Rights Campaign's Best Places to Work for LGBT equality.[51] In 2019, Hormel was again named to one of the best places to work for LGBT equality, as the company obtained a 95 out of 100 score in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.The almost-perfect score was due to the area of "equivalency in same and different-sex domestic partner medical and soft benefits", where Hormel received half-credit for providing parity in some, but not all, benefits.[52]
In 2017, Hormel sold Clougherty Packing, owner of the Farmer John and Saag's brands, to Smithfield Foods.[53]
In October 2017, Hormel announced it would acquire deli meat company Columbus Manufacturing for $850 million.[54]
In 2017, Mercy For Animals released undercover video footage of pigs being abused at The Maschhoffs LLC., a Hormel pork supplier in Hinton, Oklahoma, with piglets being castrated and having their tails cut off without any anesthetic, piglets left to suffer from untreated illness or injuries, and mother pigs crammed into gestation crates unable to move.In response, Hormel temporarily suspended its buying from the supplier.[55]
According to the Military Times, the company has been listed in the top 100 Best for Vets Employers category consistently since 2013.[56]
In April 2019, together with Harvard University Dining Services, the company hosted the Small Change Big Impact Food Summit at Harvard University.[57]
In September 2019, Hormel Foods announced that they had achieved their non-renewable energy use reduction goal a year ahead of schedule.[58]
Also in September 2019, the company launched a vegetarian meat alternative called Happy Little Plants for foodservice and retail customers.[59]
On September 18, 2020, Hormel Foods hosted the world's largest virtual pizza party, when more than 3,000 people joined a Zoom-hosted pizza party. In order to break the record, at least 500 photos of individuals needed to be uploaded during the one-hour event. The final tally was 907 photos.[60]
In February 2021, Kraft Heinz sold Planters and its other nuts businesses to Hormel for $3.35 billion.[61]
In October 2020, Hormel launched a bacon scented protective mask giveaway charity promotion.[66]
70.S&P Global Market Intelligence. Executive Profile: Richard Lyle Knowlton Healthcare Providers and Services Company Overview of Eisenhower Medical Center, Inc., Bloomberg, retrieved July 13, 2018^
