Hormel Foods
Product Evaluation & Positioning | Manufacturing
Bringing new news to a pizza classic.
1M#/YR
DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH SINCE INCEPTION
How can a legacy manufacturer build a long-term innovation pipeline beyond its immediate product roadmap?
Hormel had a strong slate of products planned for the next two to three years, but lacked a clear pipeline of ideas to sustain innovation over the next five years and beyond. The Culinary Edge partnered closely with Hormel’s internal teams to understand their manufacturing capabilities, operational guardrails, and strategic priorities. This ensured that any new concepts developed on paper would be feasible to produce at scale.
Where are the next opportunities for protein innovation in foodservice?
When you’re the reigning champion of pepperoni, with successful innovations like Cup and Char under your belt, where can you take pepperoni next? And how far can you push form, flavor, visuals before the average US consumer deems it unrecognizable?
How do you translate trends into products that operators will actually buy?
Leveraging our culinary, operational, and manufacturing expertise, TCE brought these opportunities to life through a portfolio of future-forward product concepts designed to work across multiple foodservice segments. We then validated these ideas with forward-thinking operators to gauge appetite for adoption and quantify potential market impact. This process ensured that the final concepts were not only creative, but also grounded in real-world demand and operational viability.
What were the business outcomes?
Hormel Foods debuted their newest pepperoni innovation, Pepperoni Ribbons, leveraging TCE’s support in naming, positioning, and sales materials, at the March 2024 International Pizza expo creating buzz within the industry for all those fighting to find a way to win with this beloved pizza hero. Hormel has launched 4 new SKUs in the last 5 years across chicken, deli meats and fully cooked proteins.
“I enjoy working with TCE because TCE understands the culinary landscape of the FS industry. TCE takes the time to understand what the client is working to achieve and converts the conversation into organized options. ”