Hormel Foods has referred to itself as a "global branded food company" since Jim Snee took over as CEO in 2016.
The maker of Skippy and Spam has certainly grown its stable of brands in that time. But the global ambitions from its headquarters in Austin, Minn. have stalled.
After staking out a plan to "aggressively develop our global presence" last year, Snee reported last week that the international business is "structurally sound and increasingly balanced."
Just not growing.
Two outbreaks — COVID-19 and avian influenza — are partly to blame. Sales in Hormel's biggest overseas market, China, are still struggling after the last pandemic lockdown ended this winter. And turkey exports are half what they were last year due to bird flu deaths and export restrictions.
The challenges are temporary, Snee told analysts on a conference call last Thursday. The company's foreign outposts will soon "resume delivering accelerated growth."
"The team in China has aggressive plans in place to drive improved results in the back half of the year," Snee said.
For the past two years, that has been the trend for Hormel's international sales — a better second half of the year.