Hormel Foods Corporation won a Stevie Award for "Most Innovative Company" in the 2009 American Business Awards recently because of its ongoing dedication to innovation.
One challenge the Hormel Foods executive team created was the Billion Dollar Challenge in 2000 to generate $1 billion in sales from new products launched during this decade by the end of fiscal year 2009. The company met this goal two years early. With this milestone accomplished, Hormel Foods announced a new goal, Go for 2B by 2012, aimed at generating $2 billion in sales of new products by fiscal year 2012.
Additionally, in 2008, Hormel Foods launched a research initiative aimed at helping its retail partners better serve shoppers of convenience foods. The study found retailers can better serve shoppers by creating a dedicated convenience meals aisle where the full range of quick and easy products can be found, rather than having convenience items scattered throughout the store. Already, multiple retailers have implemented recommendations from Hormel Foods, and several more are expected to do so in coming months.
Hormel Foods was also a Stevie Award finalist in two additional categories: Best Website for www.hormel.com and Best Annual Report for its 2007 Hormel Foods Corporate Responsibility Report.
For more information about Hormel Foods, visit www.hormelfoods.com/about/company/innovation.aspx. Details about The American Business Awards, finalists, and Stevie Award winners are at www.stevieawards.com/aba.
