 | |
| Product type | Preservedtomato products |
|---|---|
| Owner | Conagra Brands (Century Pacific Food in the Philippines) |
| Introduced | 1888; 137 years ago (1888) |
| Website | www |
Hunt's is a brand of preservedtomato products owned byConagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, inSebastopol, California, as theHunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearbySanta Rosa in 1890, and then toHayward in 1895. This smallcanning operation grew rapidly, focused on canning the products ofCalifornia's booming fruit and vegetable industries. By 1941, the plant shipped a hundred million cans of soup, fruits, vegetables, and juices annually.[1]
In 1943, Hunt's was taken over byNorton Simon'sVal Vita Food Products - a competing firm founded in the early 1930s and based inFullerton, California. The merged firm kept theHunt's name and incorporated asHunt Food and Industries, Inc. The new management led by Norton Simon decided to focus the company on canned tomato products, particularly preparedtomato sauce.
TheWesson Oil & Snowdrift Company merged with Hunt's Foods, Inc. in 1960 to become Hunt-Wesson Foods. Hunt-Wesson merged with theMcCall Corporation andCanada Dry to form Norton Simon Inc. in 1968. Norton Simon was acquired by Esmark in 1983, which merged withBeatrice Foods the next year. In 1985,Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice with the goal of selling off businesses. Hunt-Wesson, the company which included the Hunt's brands, was sold in 1990 toagribusiness giantConAgra Foods. In 1999, ConAgra Grocery Products (the former Hunt-Wesson) moved from Fullerton toIrvine, California.[2] The Irvine office was closed in 2006.[3]
Besides several varieties of cannedtomato sauce, the Hunt's brand appears ontomato paste, diced, whole, stewed, pureed and crushed tomatoes,organic and No Salt Added tomato products,spaghetti sauce,ketchup,barbecue sauce, canned potatoes, canned peaches and Hunt'sFamily Favorites line of canned recipe helpers. The Hunt's brand name also appears onManwich brandsloppy joes products and formerlyHunt's Snack Pack Pudding. Reddi-wip whipped cream was originally also under the Hunt's banner.
In 1988, Hunt's catsup changed its label to ketchup.[4] In May 2010, Hunt's ketchup temporarily removedhigh fructose corn syrup from its ingredients. The new ingredients were "tomatoes,sugar,vinegar,salt and otherseasonings".[5] The product changed back to high fructose corn syrup in May 2012.[6]
As of May 2017, the sugar-based version has been available for some time in the US, labeled as 100% Natural Tomato Ketchup and in the specific sizes; 20 oz, 28 oz, 38.5 oz, and 62 oz.
In December 2018,NFL quarterbackPatrick Mahomes signed an endorsement deal with Hunt's. Mahomes is well-known for his love of ketchup, even putting it on unconventional items such as steak and macaroni and cheese.[7][8]
