In addition to tasting great, our products support nutrition and well-being. We offer products that provide specialized nutrition solutions. We also have product lines that are free of preservatives, artificial ingredients and added nitrates.
Natural Product Offerings
We recognize that more and more consumers want minimally processed, preservative-free foods. We are proud to offer a variety of products to meet these needs.
- We developed Hormel® Natural Choice® products by pioneering the use of High-Pressure Processing (HPP) for protein products. This technology retains great taste without the need for preservatives, artificial ingredients, added nitrates or nitrites. With the MegaMex Foods acquisition of Fresherized Foods in 2011, we added Wholly® guacamole dips to our portfolio of foods prepared using HPP.
- Our SKIPPY® natural peanut butter spreads offer natural non-meat protein options. SKIPPY® natural peanut butter spreads contain no preservatives and no artificial flavors or colors.
- To offer consumers even more natural and organic options, we acquired the Applegate® brand in 2015 and the Justin’s® brand in 2016.
- In 2017, our Foodservice division introduced several natural items including Hormel® Natural Choice® pecanwood smoked ham, Hormel® Natural Choice® pepperoni and Hormel® Natural Choice® Canadian-style bacon. These items are 100 percent natural with no preservatives or artificial ingredients.
- Our Hormel® Compleats® chicken Alfredo and chili with beans items, along with our Dinty Moore® beef stew microwaveable meal, contain no artificial ingredients.
- In 2017, several new snacking options were introduced. These included Hormel® Natural Choice® snacks with bite-sized pieces of 100 percent natural meat and cheese along with a chocolate-covered treat and Wholly® Simply Avocado® dips and spreads with simple ingredients and flavors including jalapeno lime and red pepper.
Outside Endorsements
Many of our products are endorsed by outside organizations for meeting specific nutritional and/or processing standards. Labels associated with these endorsements allow customers to easily identify products that fall under these categories. Some of these products and endorsements include:
- Our Hormel® mini corn dog, a turkey frank surrounded by a whole grain batter, is one of several Hormel® products marked with the USDA Child Nutrition label, which lets foodservice operators know the product contributes nutrients toward national meal pattern requirements.
- Our Valley Fresh® organic chicken breast and Justin’s® peanut butter cups carry the USDA Organic seal.
- A variety of our products, including 16.3-ounce SKIPPY® creamy peanut butter, CHI-CHI’S® tortillas, 16-ounce CHI-CHI’S® salsa (mild and medium), Wholly® guacamole dips, Thick & Easy® clear thickened water – nectar consistency, and Justin’s® maple almond butter have the Orthodox Union seal of approval. This identifies products that are certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union.
- Our Hormel® Vital Cuisine® trays carry the Cancer Nutrition Consortium seal of approval.
- Many of our Applegate® products, including organic gluten-free chicken nuggets, organic chicken and apple sausage and organic turkey burgers, carry the Non-GMO Project Verified butterfly seal.
- Our canned Valley Fresh® chicken breast with rib meat and Valley Fresh® white and dark chunk chicken in broth are certified by the American Heart Association, identifying these items as meeting the criteria for heart-healthy food.