Founder of Justin’s visits Hormel Corp.
Published 10:27 am Monday, September 19, 2016
The founder of Hormel Food Crop.’s most recent acquisition visited his parent company’s headquarters last week.
Justin Gold, founder of the Justin’s brand made a trip to the Hormel Foods Corporate Office in Austin to speak with employees about his business journey, from selling his nut butters at the Boulder, Colorado, Farmer’s Market, to the company they are today as a part of the Hormel Foods family.
“You guys as employees are what make Hormel Foods so successful and so special, and it’s your hard work that puts your company in a position to change the future of food and bring along companies like mine with you,” Gold said in a press release.
Jim Splinter, group vice president, Grocery Products, and Jim Snee, president and COO, also spoke during the event.
“At our 125th celebration event, we introduced our new purpose statement, “Inspired People. Inspired Food. We are an inspired company, full of inspired people who work hard to make good food that is enjoyed all over the world,” Snee said in a release. “It’s rare to find a single person, let alone a company that aligns so well with our purpose. But we have done just that with the Justin’s brand acquisition. Justin Gold and the company and brand he founded bring portable, natural and organic nut butters to consumers, and that is just one reason why we believe that Justin, the man, and Justin’s, the company, are such a natural fit to Hormel Foods.”
Hormel Foods acquired Justin’s in May as part of a $286 million deal. Justin’s Specialty Nut Butter Brand specializes in nut butter-based snack items, and Hormel leaders expect the brand to compliment its developing Skippy peanut butter brand.
“Our goal is to build Justin’s into an enduring, global brand,” Splinter said in a release. “Achieving this goal will require leadership, vision, resources and a certain entrepreneurial spirit. The relationship between Justin’s and Hormel Foods will create compelling growth prospects for both organizations and the Grocery Products division specifically. As a standalone subsidiary, Justin’s pioneering spirit and appetite for growth is being enabled through the added resources, knowledge and capabilities in categories that the Hormel Foods company knows and understands well.”
The Justin’s brand was founded in 2004 and is a pioneer in nut-butter based snacking. Justin’s markets four nut butter-based snack lines — spreads, squeeze packs, peanut butter cups and snack packs.
The company is headquartered in Boulder and is a subsidiary in the Grocery Products segment. Learn more about the company and products at www.justins.com.