DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. -- Hillshire Brands Co.'s CEO Sean Connolly sees snack meat as an untapped market. He hopes to add "provocative" new items as he looks to grow his company's lineup of cold cuts and hot dogs, reported Reuters.
New meat products as snack food should be a key driver of sales and profits for the newly independent company, Connolly said, since they can serve more occasions, command higher prices and expand Hillshire's reach beyond grocery stores.
Hillshire Brands Co., formerly Sara Lee Corp., completed in late June the previously announced separation of its international coffee and tea business, now known as D.E Master Blenders 1753.
"We view [snack meat] as an emerging market," Connolly said. "There is a compelling consumer need around getting protein into the snacking occasion, as opposed to some of the hollow calories that they rely on today."
Connolly, who has spent a decade at both Campbell Soup and Procter & Gamble, declined to talk about specific products. Still, he said he was open to things that require cooking, like the new Ball Park slider hamburgers, as well as foods that can be eaten straight from the package.
"There hasn't been a lot of creative thought put into that space over the years," Connolly said.
Slim Jim, owned by ConAgra Foods, is a leader in the meat snack category.
Among Hillshire's portfolio of brands, Jimmy Dean has seen consistent support and innovation, Connolly said, while others have not. One brand that is lacking is the company's namesake Hillshire Farms, whose smoked sausage is Connolly's favorite company product.
"I'd like to see us make that line more contemporary. We have some ideas up our sleeve to do just that," Connolly said, citing flavor varieties as an example.
"You should expect us to shake it up. We're going to bring some provocative news to our categories," he said.
The company's most expensive and fastest growing brand is Aidells, whose sausages come in flavors like pineapple and bacon, mango and jalapeno and artichoke and garlic.
Downers Grove, Ill.-based Sara Lee decided to split up after takeover bids were not high enough to lure it into a sale, said the report. Now, the leaner, meat-focused Hillshire Brands is seen as a likely takeover target.
Analysts have mentioned Tyson Foods Inc., Hormel Foods Corp., Smithfield Foods Inc. and JBS as possible suitors.
Connolly declined to comment on the takeover speculation.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we were an incredibly attractive company," he said, pointing to the company's assets, people and opportunity to increase shareholder value.
"Our management team is quite confident we can do that as a public standalone company. We also know we have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders to maximize value."
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