Tradition Meets Transformation

Ask a SKIPPY^® brand enthusiast to recall a favorite peanut butter moment, and you might hear something like this: a childhood memory where a young girl is finally old enough to make her own sandwich, peeling back the lid on a fresh jar and carving a butter knife through the smooth, untouched surface.

Sarah Johnson, director of marketing for the SKIPPY^® and SPAM^® brands at Hormel Foods, remembers that feeling, and she’s heard many similar stories over the years. The brands at Hormel Foods aren’t just food — they are a way to experience and share comfort and connection. That emotional resonance is what drives so much of Johnson’s work. “When you work with these well-known brands, they become your ‘babies,’” she said. “There’s this emotional connection and a respect for their place in our culture. You want to see them grow, flourish, succeed.”

This desire has led to a wave of reinvention, where legacy brands are stepping beyond the center store and into new categories, formats and even fan communities. Increasingly, brands in the Hormel Foods product portfolio are showing up in new places throughout the store such as refrigerated cases, sushi counters, wellness aisles and snack shelves. It’s part of a broader effort by Hormel Foods to evolve with the consumer, using insights, licensing strategies and retail collaborations to help its brands maintain cultural relevance.

Peanut Butter Reimagined

The SKIPPY^® brand has been part of American kitchens for generations; that familiar blue jar is practically a rite of passage. But these days, the brand is branching out.

Consumers will still find the classics on the shelf, but they’ll also spot SKIPPY^® products in unexpected places: tucked into protein bars, baked into snack bites, even blended into powdered shakes. Americans are increasingly interested in protein, and nearly half of Americans report snacking three or more times a day *, underscoring the rise of snack occasions that Hormel Foods is tapping into.

“Peanut butter is one of the fastest-growing flavors across the store,” Johnson said. “It’s craveable, but it doesn’t feel over the top. It hits that sweet spot.”

That combination of comfort and versatility has opened up new possibilities. Some new SKIPPY^® products come directly from the Hormel Foods team. Others are developed through licensing partnerships, a way to experiment with new formats while staying true to the essence of the brand.

Peanut butter is one of the fastest-growing flavors across the store. It’s craveable, but it doesn’t feel over the top. It hits that sweet spot.
Sarah Johnson, director of marketing for the SKIPPY^® and SPAM^® brands

At the heart of it all is a clear understanding of what defines the SKIPPY^® brand experience. “One of the things we hear over and over again is that people love the sweetness level,” Johnson said. “It’s not too much. That feedback helps us draw the line between what fits and what doesn’t. It’s how we protect the brand.”

Center Store to Sushi Counter

At Hormel Foods, the SPAM^® brand is the company’s standard bearer. For decades, it has been a staple in kitchens and pantries, especially in places like Hawaii and South Korea. But now, it’s gaining momentum among younger, more diverse consumers and beginning to show up in places it has never been before.

Take the sushi counter. “SPAM^® products were born in America but raised across the globe,” Johnson said. And recently, SPAM^® products have made their way into ready-to-eat sushi sets: musubi, norimaki, Korean barbeque rolls. The idea isn’t to invent something new, but rather to recognize and popularize a beloved home-prepared item that already has cultural momentum and emotional resonance.

“I went down a deep rabbit hole watching people on social media make SPAM^® musubi,” said Johnson, laughing as she recalled. “People always tell me their SPAM^® stories. They’ll say, ‘I grew up on this,’ or ‘My family still makes it this way.’ And then when they try SPAM^® musubi for the first time, they are often surprised by how well it goes with sushi rice and a seaweed wrap. SPAM^® products offer a wonderful mix of nostalgia and discovery.”

Same Brands, New Shelves

Walk through a modern grocery store, and you might notice something. Hormel Foods brands aren’t just tucked into the shelf-stable aisle anymore. They’re in virtually every aisle. From center-store classics to fresh, frozen, deli, convenience and checkout, the company’s portfolio is quietly expanding to more aisles, occasions and consumers than ever before.

These days, you’ll find refrigerated SPAM^® sushi near the grab-and-go case, SKIPPY^® wafer bars alongside protein snacks, and JUSTIN’S^® nut butters in the natural foods section. APPLEGATE^® sliced meats appear in refrigerated cases, HORMEL GATHERINGS^® trays anchor weekend displays in the deli, and DINTY MOORE^® stew cups show up at checkout.

These placements aren’t random. They’re part of a deliberate strategy to grow with the consumer, to understand how people actually shop and eat and to show up with attractive protein-focused offerings for all occasions.

It’s about showing up in more places where people already are and offering something that feels like it belongs there.
Matt Cizik, director of corporate development at Hormel Foods

“What we’re doing isn’t just about expanding products,” said Matt Cizik, director of corporate development at Hormel Foods. “It’s about showing up in more places where people already are and offering something that feels like it belongs there.”

Some of this product category expansion happens through licensing. Cizik describes a rigorous process: every licensed brand product must meet high standards for taste, texture, safety and packaging. In the case of the SKIPPY^® brand, the peanut butter inside must come from Hormel Foods plants. “We want it to feel seamless,” said Cizik, the goal being for some consumers to discover (or rediscover) the brand through a licensed product, then circle back to buy a jar of SKIPPY^® peanut butter. “That’s the goal,” he added. “You’re expanding reach, building brand love and keeping it full circle.”

Beyond the Aisle

The reach of Hormel Foods brands isn’t stopping at the grocery store. The MR. PEANUT^® character recently appeared in a Netflix film, putting the PLANTERS^® brand in front of a whole new audience. The SPAM^® brand has had such a large impact on world culture that it has its own 16,500-square-foot museum to tell the story.

“There’s real demand for these products,” Cizik said. “It’s not just a novelty.” That demand, he says, reflects a deeper affection for brands people grew up with and still feel connected to.

As legacy brands step into new formats, categories and cultural moments, the Hormel Foods approach to innovation remains rooted in listening closely to what people already love, and finding smart, relevant ways to bring its brands into new moments of daily life.

* Circana Group, 2025

More From The Originate Initiative

Food

Where Bacon Gets Bolder

How the HORMEL^® BLACK LABEL^® brand is redefining what bacon can be

People

Chefs Who Deliver

The Hormel Foods Culinary Collective is unlocking value across the enterprise

All The Originate Initiative stories