Hormel Foods: Popularity of Protein Has It Confident About Growth Potential

Hormel Foods interim CEO Jeff Ettinger opened the company’s presentation to the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) saying that since he rejoined the company on an interim basis and John Ghingo became the president last summer, the two had “leaned into being the protein company everyone wants to be."

Because Hormel was announcing its earnings next week, there wasn’t as much data detail to the company’s presentation, but Ettinger and Ghingo did lay out a short recap of 2025, a look into the plan for 2026 and beyond, and briefly discussed the divestiture of the company’s whole-bird turkey business — also announced today.

Ettinger admitted that, although the company saw top-line growth in 2025, earnings were challenged due to headwinds in raw materials, a product recall and a fire at one of its facilities. In addition, pricing challenges chased the company during the year as well. In some ways, Hormel used 2025 to reset its foundation a bit, sharpening its focus, moving further toward centralization of its various businesses, and investing and adjusting its efforts to get 2026 off to what the company called a solid start.

He made clear that Hormel was not leaving the turkey business or diminishing the Jennie-O business. The company was keeping the Jennie-O brand as well as the entire value-added products business. The divestiture of the whole-bird business included one processing plant and the vertical supply structure (feed mill and growers) associated with that business. He said it was expected to have minimal impact on 2026 results, and the deal was expected to close in Q2 of fiscal 2026.

Ettinger said Hormel was reaffirming its 2026 outlook before turning over the podium to Ghingo, who first presented a comprehensive look at consumer demand for protein. Two-thirds of consumers intentionally consumer protein products, and it’s a global, generational movement across all channels. North American protein business is expected to grow from $19.6 billion in 2024 to $30.96 billion in 2033, Hormel stated in its slideshow, with other global regions doubling in that time. GLP-1 adoption and implementation of the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines will only spur further interest in protein consumption.

Hormel Foods, Ghingo said, was in a great position as a company that does “protein the old-fashioned way, through the food.” However, the company’s unique position to win in this setup doesn’t mean it will sit on its laurels and let the market come to it. Hormel highlighted seven different strategic growth areas on its potential path to winning.

First, it plans to strengthen brands such as Planters and Applegate, among others. Planters has already begun expanding its work to capitalize on more than just being a packaged nuts brand and becoming what Hormel calls a “substantial snacking” play given the big demand for protein in snacking. Applegate’s efforts in the morning convenience products space is a major growth platform for it that Hormel highlighted at CAGNY.

Second, Hormel needs to capitalize on growth opportunities that cross markets and channels, such as Spam’s move beyond the canned luncheon meat category into bigger opportunities like the global sushi segment, particularly overseas. Back home, Hormel’s expertise in authentic, regional and traditional Mexican flavor systems and profiles can be extended into the company’s retail and foodservice businesses in the U.S. through new varieties.

Third, innovating original ideas that solve problems for their customers has become ultimately critical for growth. Ghingo pointed to the company’s foodservice brand Flash 180, which has taken on the challenge of foodservice providers wanting to quickly prep and serve breaded chicken products while maintaining a crisp and juicy outcome. Further, Hormel’s Black Label Oven Ready Bacon has provided solutions for both home cooks and foodservice chefs alike.

Hormel discussed supply chain growth in the form of network optimization, investments to modernize facilities and constant improvement of foundational processes as its fourth strategic growth area. The fifth growth area was evolution and simplification of the portfolio, a measure that led to the divestiture of the whole-bird business. The company saw an ability to leave a volatile, commodity-centric business and made that move to improve its portfolio.

The final two growth areas hammered home the points of modernizing across the board, focusing on investments in technology that improve efficiency and processes overall, and tapping into the legacy knowledge of its deeply Hormel-cultured talent while blending it with external additions to the leadership team that bring a fresh perspective to the company.

At the end of the day, Ghingo said that the company expects its long-term growth algorithms of 2-3% organic net sales growth remains achievable.