Why Corn Nuts is a ‘diamond-in-the-rough’ for Hormel Foods

When Hormel Foods spent $3.35 billion four years ago to buy Kraft Heinz’s snack nut portfolio, much of the attention was paid to the crown jewel of the transformative deal: Planters nuts.

And for good reason. Planters was nearing $1 billion in sales and would immediately become one of Hormel’s best-selling products, surpassing other portfolio staples such as Spam, Jennie-O turkey and Justin’s peanut butter.

But included in the mix was a brand Hormel viewed as underappreciated and one it was confident it could turn around. 

The brand was Corn Nuts, a crunchy snack created during the Great Depression for bars and taverns. For years, Corn Nuts seemed to lack direction as Kraft Heinz prioritized investing in its better-selling cousin Planters, which caused the smaller brand to languish. 

“There was a recognition that this was kind of like a diamond-in-the-rough-type situation where you had a really simple business in corn and a lot of opportunity for growth,” said Patrick Horbas, market director for Corn Nuts and Planters, who came to Hormel from Kraft Heinz following the purchase. “With a little bit of focus, attention and additional excitement, it could be something more than it was.”

When the now 89-year-old brand was acquired by Hormel in 2021, it had a dominant presence in convenience stores but lacked meaningful exposure in other channels, such as grocery, where it could tap into growing consumer interest in snacking. The item also had largely saturated markets in the western U.S., close to its home state of California.

Hormel was determined to get Corn Nuts into more retail outlets and broaden its reach to other parts of the country, such as the East Coast. It also set out to deepen its focus on innovation. One of Corn Nuts’ most valuable assets is the snack’s ability to carry flavor due to its unique shape.

The brand has four main flavors — Original, Ranch, BBQ and Chile Picante Con Limon.  Hormel aims to introduce a new limited-time Corn Nuts flavor every year that taps into an existing market trend before determining whether to scale it, Horbas said. Kickin’ Dill, Loaded Taco and Mexican Street Corn are just a few limited-time offerings that have become permanent fixtures in Corn Nuts’ lineup. 

“A corn kernel is a great canvas for a lot of things,” Horbas observed. “It’s always tough when you have so many flavors that can go on something, you have to think it through.”

Since acquiring the Corn Nuts brand, Hormel “has seen strong momentum across key metrics,” including household penetration, sales, volume and distribution, according to a company spokesperson.

Hormel is exploring other opportunities for the brand. In May, it ventured beyond its traditional offering for the first time with Corn Nuts Partially Popped, combining the signature crunch of the snack with the light, airy texture of popcorn.

Horbas said Hormel could take Corn Nuts further beyond the iconic crunchy kernel and into other forms. 

“It’s a little risky,” Horbas said about expanding Corn Nuts into new formats. “The upside is much larger, too, but you’re introducing something new. It takes a lot more education in the space. It takes a lot more trial of the product. But I would say those things are always on our mind.”