Success in foreign markets requires deep localized knowledge. It requires that we dial in those differences, including taste preferences, market segments, ways of cooking, and emerging consumer interests.
Director of Innovation, Hormel Foods International
The focus on retail and foodservice innovation has fostered a mindset across the company that is tuned to both regional and global trends. This allows the company to be more efficient, speed up the process and contribute to the local economy.
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
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The new R&D center located in the city of Jiaxing China
“Hormel Foods China leads our company in innovation,” says Swen Neufeldt, group vice president of Hormel Foods International. “That leadership position is not an accident. The new innovation team in China has three key strategic focuses. The first is consumer-centric thinking and market research. The new facility is remarkable and worth celebrating, but it is the remarkable team of food scientists, chefs and product leaders that will give it life. This is how we are going to grow talent and continue to grow and serve consumers across the region.”
Most recently, the team has launched a Bistro Salami product to be paired with wine and other liquors. The consumer insights team noticed that Chinese consumers were increasingly treating themselves to small, affordable indulgences, including higher quality alcoholic drinks, but there were no decent snacks designed to complement this trend. Modifying the flavor for the Chinese palate, Hormel Foods created a Bistro Salami that could be sold and stored without refrigeration. It was a new product with no real competitors targeting those consumer desires.
“The innovation team in China is a well-oiled machine with strong front-end and back-end pipelines of products,” says Pollock. “To be honest, it’s been transformational. It is really a case study in delivering new products. We want to take those learnings about how to fire up innovation to Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.”
Importing Flavors from Mexico
At MegaMex Foods, the Hormel Foods joint venture with Herdez del Fuerte in Mexico, innovation practices often emerge from a combination of methodological approaches and organic experiences. Kurt Lindsey, team lead of innovation and brand design at MegaMex Foods, explains that the company operates with a backlog of ideas that undergo an annual review, considering factors such as feasibility, alignment with the brand and potential value. This process isn’t merely about hard metrics; intuition plays a critical role. The idea-evaluation process is a mix of “art and science.”
The journey from idea conception to product on the shelf varies, and can be as fast as six weeks for certain products. Factors include the nature of the product, existing facilities and external partnerships. Some products have seen a swift development timeline, such as an enchilada sauce line that went from concept to a leading retailer’s shelves in under six months. However, other projects might span years due to intricacies like building production capacity, R&D testing, allergen concerns or regulatory processes.
To keep their thinking fresh, the innovators at MegaMex Foods frequently immerse themselves in emerging trends. Quarterly outings to new or trending restaurants or markets across Mexico and the American South are part of their ritual. Not only do they dissect the culinary offerings, but these experiences also serve as team-building exercises, fostering trust and facilitating reflections on past projects. Furthermore, the team organizes food odysseys and continuously scouts new products, sharing insights with each other. In the end, innovation isn’t just about having great ideas, Lindsey says. It’s about knowing which ones to pursue, how to execute them and ensuring that they resonate in the marketplace.
Exporting and Importing the Spirit of Innovation
Increasingly, innovative product launches in the United States are inspired or influenced by ideas imported from the company’s far-flung outposts. The individual Skippy® squeeze packets, for example, were first launched in Asia about six years ago. The consumer insights team learned that refrigerated peanut butter was often too hard to spread on the soft bread common in the country, and that smaller individual packaging suited the large number of young Chinese who live alone and have smaller refrigerators. The squeeze-pack packaging found success in Asia. In 2019, the product was launched in the United States.
Hormel Foods embraces a global perspective, recognizing that innovation is no longer confined to borders. All of the company’s engagements around the globe have created a dynamic system where new products, processes and ideas flow in multiple directions. Each regional team has the autonomy to adapt and iterate based on local needs and preferences, while also benefiting from the broader knowledge and resources of the global company. Every region contributes to the innovation ecosystem, and the success in one region often leads to success in others. Insights from the U.S. or China might inspire a product in Brazil, and a flavor trend or a new manufacturing process in the Philippines might find its way to the U.S.
The global kitchen has opened its doors, and everyone is invited to the table.
