Dive Brief:
- Tyson Foods announced it is looking to sell three of its non-protein businesses: Kettle, Van’s and Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, according to MarketWatch.
- The move comes as the company, known mainly for its pork, chicken and beef offerings, seeks to focus on its core protein businesses.
- "Through our ongoing strategic planning process, we're continuously looking at ways to maximize the effectiveness and growth potential of our protein-based portfolio of products," Tom Hayes, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
When he began his role as Tyson’s new CEO this year, Hayes named a few goals for the company, including a focus on innovation, additional acquisitions, and paving the way for the next phase of protein growth.
By announcing that Tyson plans to sell three large non-protein brands, He is quickly delivering on that last point. The move makes sense, considering the company’s strong protein sales of late. After an up-and-down performance last year, Tyson saw record operating profits and margins in pork and beef in the first quarter of this year, driven by strong export markets, low prices and healthy livestock supplies. The Springdale, AR-based manufacturer expects similar results throughout the year as industry forces work in its favor.
This is the latest of a string of big moves for Tyson. In February, the manufacturer announced it will phase out antibiotics in its branded chicken products, a move that it hopes will tap into consumer demand for cleaner products. Then just this week, Tyson, which for more than a year had hinted at increased acquisition activity, bought AdvancePierre, makers of ready-to-eat sandwiches and snacks, in a deal worth $4.2 billion.
Overall, the company is seeing high consumer demand for protein and value-added options. Many of these products appear in the grocery freezer section, which hasn’t seen the strong growth that the perimeter of stores have seen. But, Hayes has said, the growing interest in fresh departments is driving consumers to seek out Tyson’s value-added lines.
Selling off slow-growing brands can be a difficult decision for companies to make, considering the time and money they’ve spent on these brands. But it can free a company like Tyson to elevate the sales of its core products and experiment with new categories, like plant-based proteins.