Hormel Foods and Herdez Del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V., have announced a definitive agreement to create MegaMex Foods, a 50/50 joint venture to market Mexican foods in the US.
The venture will significantly expand the existing agreement between the two companies and produces a portfolio with initial revenue of about US$200 million. The comprehensive portfolio includes brands and products, such as CHI-CHI'S, HERDEZ, LA VICTORIA, EMBASA and DOÑA MARÃA, among others, which resonate with Mexican-American and mainstream consumers of Mexican foods.
The collaboration, which combines the strengths of the two companies, will provide better service to the growing US Hispanic population, and is an important step toward ongoing growth and increasing nationwide presence, according to Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods, and Juan Marco Gutiérrez Wanless, chairman at Herdez Del Fuerte.
In order to provide focus to the business, MegaMex Foods will be a free-standing entity with an independent management team based in Chino, California. MegaMex Foods will optimise efficiencies by leveraging core competencies of the parent companies, such as manufacturing, research and development and the supply chain.
The organisation of MegaMex Foods is expected to be completed around October 26, 2009.
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota, is a manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products.
Herdez Del Fuerte, based in Mexico City, is a manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and beverages in Mexico and the US. The company also markets and distributes products from affiliated companies such as Hormel Alimentos, McCormick de México and Barilla México.
