How Hormel Foods Responds to Evolving Consumers, Protein Demand

Baskin:
Yeah, it's a great question. And as we think about it at Hormel, the key is really putting the consumer and the operator at the center of everything. At its core, the food business is really predicated on consumers and operators making the decision to spend their hard-earned dollars to buy our products. And so it's critical that we have an incredibly deep understanding of who those consumer operators are, where they're at, where they're going and what their pain points are.

At Hormel, we spend a lot of time sitting in consumers' kitchens, walking grocery stores with them, going through their freezers and listening to them as they talk about food, kind of hearing what they're saying, maybe what they're not saying. We spend a lot of time looking at global food trends. We've got a brand fuel group that does an incredible job of distilling insights from all around the world into actionable information.

Our direct sales force and foodservice teams give us a huge competitive advantage because they're in operators' kitchens every single day, talking with chefs and understanding what's working and what's not working.

What that allows us to do is stay true to the guiding principle that our founder, George A. Hormel, put forward 135 years ago: originate, don't imitate. For us, that means understanding a pain point and developing a solution that solves it better than anything else in the industry.

That’s something we’ve been doing since the beginning. It started with George A. Hormel inventing Canadian bacon in the early 1900s as a way to drive more value and bring a bit of health and wellness to the market. Today we’re a $12 billion global branded food company, named Fast Company’s “Brands That Matter” in 2025.

So it all comes back to putting the consumer and the operator at the center and making sure we evolve alongside them.

Staying in the Food Lane

Hanacek:
So let me ask, Jason. When you think about companies the size of Hormel over time, especially in food and beverage, several of them have come and gone or narrowed their focus. Some have gotten really big in other areas.

I did some work on the history of Hormel when the company turned 125 years old about 10 years ago. If I remember right, one thing that stood out was that Hormel always stayed in its wheelhouse of food and beverage.

You look at some big companies that branched into totally unrelated things — I think one even bought an underwear business at one point. There has to be something to the success story in Hormel knowing what it does well and sticking with it instead of overextending itself. Am I off base there?

Baskin:
No, I’d say you're right. We've been in food for a long time. That doesn't mean we've always gotten it 100% right. I think about 40 years ago we owned a catfish farm, which probably wasn’t a core competency. But we divested that over time.

What’s been key is that Hormel has always taken a very long-term view. A big part of our success is having a clear vision of where we want to go and a disciplined strategy for how we get there.

Strategy is really about choice. Over the years we’ve been intentional about prioritizing resources in areas where we have a right to win and deprioritizing areas that don’t fit our strengths or where the consumer is heading.

That discipline has helped drive our growth. Over the past 20 years we’ve doubled the size of the company. We were a $6 billion business in 2006 and we’re a $12 billion business today. We’re also proud to be a Dividend Aristocrat, increasing dividends to shareholders for 60 consecutive years.

Today our vision is rooted in our purpose of fueling every day with real food for real life. And where we clearly have a right to win is real food protein.

Protein is definitely having a moment right now. I was just at Expo West and everything had protein in it. But some products feel like protein fits naturally and others feel a little forced.

Our point of difference is that we do protein the old-fashioned way — through food.

When you look at Google Trends over the last 20 years, diets like keto or South Beach spike and fade. But interest in protein keeps steadily rising. Consumers increasingly understand the benefits of protein for satiety, strength, energy and overall health.

And real food protein is usually the most efficient and effective way to get it.

Momentum Through Legacy Brands and Strategic Growth

Hanacek:
I’m glad you brought up protein because it's been clear that real food protein is central for Hormel. And you've done a good job staying where you have expertise.

What are some other big stories from the past couple of years that have helped drive success for the company?

Baskin:
We feel really good about the momentum we’re building. We’ve had five consecutive quarters of top-line growth, which is significant in an industry that’s been challenged on that front.

One great example is Spam. It’s a brand that will be 90 years old next year and it continues to deliver record sales. Traditionally Spam was viewed simply as canned luncheon meat. But in the U.S. we already have about 80–90% of that category, so the opportunity for growth inside the category alone is limited. The shift we made was to think about Spam not as canned meat but as an iconic brand that sits at the center of global food culture.

When we looked at the data, the growth was being driven by younger and multicultural consumers. A lot of the momentum is coming from Asia and influencing the West Coast of the United States. And the fastest growth was actually coming from Spam outside of the can — foodservice, convenience stores and other parts of the grocery store.

In Japan, for example, we introduced Spam musubi in a leading convenience store chain and have sold more than 100 million units in the past four years. We also introduced Spam norimaki in the sushi section with one of the leading sushi providers in the U.S. What started as a West Coast test exceeded expectations and is now rolled out nationally.

We’re even launching collaborations like a limited-time Spam Japanese barbecue flavor with Bachan’s. That pairing brings together an iconic brand and one that resonates strongly with younger multicultural consumers. Spam may be nearly 90 years old, but we believe there’s still tremendous runway for growth.

The Applegate Partnership

Baskin:
Another example is our Applegate business.

Applegate has been an outstanding partnership. When we acquired the brand we wanted to continue the legacy of founder Stephen McDonnell. The team still operates independently out of New Jersey and continues to grow the brand in exciting ways.

Applegate is known for high animal welfare standards, clean ingredients and an environmentally conscious mission to change the meat we eat.We’ve expanded the brand across categories — sausage, hot dogs, lunch meat, frozen foods and foodservice channels like colleges and senior living.

One recent focus is breakfast. Consumer data shows breakfast, especially frozen breakfast, is growing. Consumers want something convenient, tasty and something they feel good feeding their families.

So we’ve launched a breakfast platform with items like breakfast sausage, frittata egg bites, pancakes on a stick and breakfast sandwiches. As a parent myself, my kids would eat McDonald’s every morning if I let them. But I feel good giving them an Applegate breakfast sandwich. It delivers convenience, protein and quality ingredients.

Looking Ahead: Jennie-O, Planters and the Future

Hanacek:
Let’s look ahead a little bit. What should we expect from Hormel in the next one to three years? Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth?

Baskin:
Our long-term growth algorithm is 2–3% sales growth and 5–7% profit growth. That’s our financial North Star. A lot of achieving that comes from the consumer insights behind real food protein and from prioritizing our strongest brands and growth platforms.

One example is Jennie-O. Turkey still has much lower market penetration compared with chicken or beef. But it aligns really well with trends like GLP-1 weight-loss drugs where consumers want lean, clean protein options. So we see significant opportunity to make turkey even more accessible and value-added for consumers.

Another major focus is Planters. When we acquired that business we recognized that we needed a stronger presence in snacking. Consumers today aren’t eating three square meals a day anymore. They’re snacking throughout the day. Nuts fit perfectly with our real food philosophy. They’re portable, nutritious and offer a great value in terms of protein per ounce. We’re positioning Planters around the concept of substantial snacking — snacks that actually fuel you rather than just fill a craving.

Preparing for the GLP-1 Era

Hanacek:
How are you thinking about the impact of GLP-1 medications on snacking overall? Some people think snacks could be the category most affected.

Baskin:
We believe GLP-1s are just scratching the surface. But we also believe we’re well positioned. Consumers on GLP-1 medications typically eat smaller portions, and protein and fiber become even more important.

That’s where our portfolio works well. Something like a handful of nuts is a perfect smaller portion snack. Compared with cookies or chips, it aligns much better with those dietary needs. Products like Columbus snack trays — small portions of meat, cheese and crackers — also fit nicely as lighter meal options. Because so much of our portfolio centers on real food protein, we see GLP-1 trends as more of a growth tailwind than a threat.

At the end of the day, Hormel has spent 135 years evolving with consumers. We’ve done it many times before, and we’ll continue doing it as the way people eat continues to change.