Dive Brief:
- As Hormel nears its 125th anniversary celebration, the company received praise for maintaining its "small town roots" and community ties even after growing to become a major international food company with $9.26 billion in sales last year.
- This stems in part from "a proud legacy between the company and the city of Austin (MN) working together," according to Tom Day, group vice president of Hormel's refrigerated foods segment. Also, Hormel launched the Hormel Foundation in 1941 and the Hormel Institute the next year, which has enabled the company to donate millions of dollars to local organizations each year.
- Another reason is maintaining consistency in Hormel products' "iconic taste," according to Jaynee Sherman, brand manager for Spam's international division. "Overall, nothing has changed. ... It's what people love the most about Spam," she said.
Dive Insight:
A critical issue for major food and beverage companies today is maintaining a sense of authenticity and building trust with consumers, many of whom distrust major companies, especially millennials.
Hormel has remained closely integrated with the community in which the company was founded. While other major companies have moved parts of their operations to other countries, costing jobs in the local community, Hormel's main operations remain in Austin well over a century later.
Hormel has not laid dormant in that time either, as the company continues to pursue acquisitive growth and expansion into new fast-growing categories. These include medical foods, better-for-you nut butter snacks with its Justin's acquisition earlier this year or natural and organic meats with last year's Applegate Farms acquisition. Not all of Hormel's innovation attempts have worked, most notably Spam Snacks.
But Hormel has demonstrated how food and beverage manufacturers can both grow and evolve and stay true to their roots at the same time.