Hormel gives its Spam canned meat new lease on life

[Reuter/Patricia Commins]

CHICAGO, June 3 (Reuter) - Spam keeps bringing home the
bacon.
The food product carried by GIs on D-Day is experiencing
double-digit growth on the 50th anniversary of the Allied
landing at Normandy. America's best-known canned meat, whose
name comes from ``spiced pork and ham,'' is still marching to
destinations around the world.
Here are some of the facts about the product served up by
George Hormel & Co, Spam's maker:
--Each year, 100 million pounds (45 million kg) of Spam are
sold around the world.
--Each second, 3.8 cans of the product are consumed by the
more than 60 million Americans who eat the canned meat.
--The average consumers of Spam are families with several
children, especially in the southeastern U.S.
But if Spam has survived as a staple for millions of
Americans since 1937, the ``Miracle Meat'' had its best years in
the 1950s and 1960s. The next two decades were tough times, with
sales turning flat.
``In some respects, we took the product for granted and we
had very little if any marketing capital behind it,'' said Hormel
spokesman Allan Krejci. But thanks to new promotions, Spam has
seen double-digit increases over the past two or three years.
Spam regained some of its lustre with new advertising that
drew on the inventiveness of the 1950s when it was known as the
``Meat of 1,000 Uses.'' At the same time, Hormel has pushed other
long-in-the-tooth labels like Dinty Moore stew and Hormel Chili.
There's a snappy ``Spamburger'' U.S. television commercial
that touts the ``only hamburger actually made with ham.''
Then there's Lite Spam, with less fat, and a low-sodium
variety as well, which together account for about one-third of
total Spam sales, according to Hormel.
``We don't treat them like mature, over-the-hill products
that are at the ageing point in their lifecycles,'' said Joel
Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Hormel.
The campaign is paying off for the Austin, Minnesota-based
food processor, which has nearly $3 billion in annual sales
although it doesn't break out volumes for individual products.
``I think there's still room for growth,'' added George
Dahlman, food analyst for Piper Jaffray, a brokerage house based
in Minneapolis.
For example, Spam, which has a long shelf life, is being
sold at Kmart, targeting value-conscious consumers, Dahlman
noted. ``Kmart is an ideal situation,'' Dahlman said.
Aware of the product's curious cachet, Hormel plays it to
the hilt with events such as a Spam Jamboree each year in
Austin, and a Spam cookoff in Hawaii, which has the distinction
of having the highest per-capita consumption of the canned meat.
``Spam goes well with rice,'' Krejci, explaining the Hawaiian
connection.
The Hormel products, as ever, are touted for their economic
sense and convenience. And while they may not be the choice of
the watercress and melba-toast diet crowd, that's not how
they're positioned, Krejci said.
``These are wholesome and hearty meals...at an economical
price,'' Krejci said.
At a time when frozen foods sell for more than $3 a package
in the United States, Dinty Moore beef stew and Spam cost less
than $2.
Spam's finest hour may have been World War II, when it was
carried to the front in six-pound (2.72 kg) cans. But Johnson
said that there is plenty of new life in Hormel's old brands.
``We see them as products that can grow with fresh and
aggressive ideas.''