Hormel Names Head of ‘Brand Fuel’

Oct. 13, 2022

The new innovation unit will be headed by a 30-year company veteran.

Hormel Foods has reorganized its approach to product development, naming its vice president of innovation to head up a new “center of excellence.”

The new Brand Fuel unit is part of an “operating model evolution” that established a new Retail segment. Effective this month, Hormel reorganized into four units: Retail, Foodservice, International and Brand Fuel. The purpose of the Brand Fuel unit is to furnish marketing and consumer insights to the Retail segment, which comprises Hormel’s most famous brands, such as Spam and Skippy.

Hormel announced Oct. 12 that Brand Fuel will be headed by Scott Aakre, currently vice president of corporate innovation and new product development. A 30-year Hormel veteran, Aakre has had his current position since 2011.

"Scott is an incredibly talented leader who understands the importance of our brands and products and how they meet the needs of today's, and tomorrow's, consumers,” CEO Jim Snee said in a statement.

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.