Smithfield Foods, Inc. is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, the company owns popular brands like Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan’s Famous, Farmland, Armour, Cook’s, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Kretschmar, Curly’s, Carando, and Margherita. This includes the Smithfield chicken and bbq brands.
A Brief History of Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods has a long and storied history dating back to 1936 when it was founded as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son Joseph W. Luter Jr. in Smithfield, Virginia. It was a small family-owned operation focused on hog production.
Over the next few decades, Smithfield grew through acquisitions and became one of the largest pork processors in America. Some key events:
- 1981 – Smithfield went public and began trading on the NASDAQ
- 1985 – Acquired Gwaltney of Smithfield for $34 million gaining control of the valuable brand name
- 1992 – Changed name to Smithfield Foods, Inc. reflecting broader ambitions
- 1998 – Acquired John Morrell & Co, the 2nd largest processed meats company in the US
- 2013 – Chinese company WH Group purchased Smithfield for $4.7 billion
Today, Smithfield remains headquartered in Smithfield, VA but is majority owned by the Chinese company WH Group. It employs over 50,000 people across the U.S. and Europe.
Smithfield’s Chicken and BBQ Brands
As Smithfield grew into the largest pork producer globally, they expanded into other protein categories through acquisitions. This includes prominent chicken and barbecue brands:
Armour
Acquired in 2013, Armour is one of the most well-known brands for processed meats like hot dogs, lunch meat, and canned meats. While not primarily a chicken brand, Armour does offer frozen chicken products.
Farmland
Acquired in 2003, Farmland Foods is a pork and beef producer that also offers chicken products like chicken sausages and boneless chicken.
Cook’s
Founded as Cook’s Hams in 1892, Cook’s is now known for its smoked and cured hams. It offers a range of smoked chicken offerings.
Eckrich
Founded in 1894, Eckrich was acquired by Smithfield in 1998. It offers smoked sausages, deli meats, and other products including smoked chicken.
Gwaltney
Gwaltney of Smithfield produces hot dogs, lunch meats, and bacon. They also sell seasonal chicken sausages.
John Morrell
Acquired in 1998, John Morrell Food Group specializes in hot dogs, lunchmeat, and ham. They offer some chicken products and chicken sausages.
Curly’s
Curly’s BBQ was acquired in 2014. Based in Minnesota, Curly’s offers smoked meats including bbq chicken and chicken wings.
Carando
Acquired in 2017, Carando is an Italian deli meat brand that offers some chicken cold cuts and chicken sausages.
Margherita
Acquired in 2017, Margherita is a branded Italian meats company selling items like chicken cutlets and chicken sausages.
So in summary, while not exclusively chicken brands, Smithfield has acquired several prominent U.S. meat companies over the years that produce chicken and barbecue products under brands like Armour, Farmland, Curly’s, and others. The Smithfield corporate umbrella owns and produces these popular chicken and bbq product lines today.
Smithfield’s Vertical Integration
One key factor in Smithfield’s commanding market share in pork, and growing presence in chicken, is their level of vertical integration. This means Smithfield owns and controls nearly all aspects of production including:
- Hog farming and sourcing
- Pork processing and packaging
- Distribution and transportation
- Brands and consumer products
This level of end-to-end control provides operational efficiencies and gives Smithfield considerable pricing power. The same vertical integration strategy is now growing their chicken business.
According to Smithfield, they are now the largest producer of chicken in the Northeast U.S. They continue to acquire farming operations and processing plants giving them tight control over chicken supply and production costs.
Vertical integration enabled rapid expansion of Smithfield’s chicken capacity. As the largest pork producer globally, they leveraged their distribution network, brands, and customer relationships to quickly gain share in the poultry market as well.
Controversies and Criticisms
Despite being the #1 producer of pork and an increasingly prominent chicken processor, Smithfield has faced controversies and criticisms including:
- Monopoly power – The level of supply chain control in pork and chicken provides Smithfield with monopolistic pricing control according to critics. There are few checks on continued acquisition of competitors.
- Labor practices – Various lawsuits and complaints have accused Smithfield of poor treatment of workers including unsafe working conditions in processing facilities.
- Environmental impact – Smithfield’s immense concentration of livestock production has raised environmental concerns around issues like water pollution and waste management.
- Foreign ownership – The acquisition of Smithfield by Chinese company WH Group in 2013 sparked national security concerns regarding foreign control of America’s food supply.
While Smithfield has defended their business practices, many industry observers and activists consider the company to wield too much control over U.S. meat production including prominent chicken and barbecue brands. The long-term impacts of their dominance in pork and expansion in poultry remain to be seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Smithfield Foods start producing chicken products?
Smithfield began expanding into chicken in the 1990s and 2000s through acquisitions of brands like Armour, Cook’s, and Farmland that offered some poultry products. They significantly expanded their chicken operations more recently to become one of the largest chicken producers in the Northeast U.S.
What are Smithfield Foods’ most popular chicken brands?
Some of Smithfield’s most popular chicken brands include Farmland, Armour, Cook’s, Eckrich, and Curly’s BBQ. These brands sell products like frozen chicken, chicken sausages, and smoked chicken.
Does Smithfield only produce chicken or do they slaughter the chickens too?
Smithfield controls the entire production process for chicken including hatcheries, grow-out farms, processing facilities, and packaged products. This vertical integration gives them control over pricing and quality.
How does Smithfield’s chicken production compare to their pork?
While pork made up 82% of Smithfield’s sales in 2021, chicken is their second largest protein category. Their chicken operations are considerable but still smaller than their dominant pork production.
Why did Smithfield Foods get into chicken production?
Smithfield expanded into chicken to diversify their protein offerings, leverage their distribution scale, and capitalize on America’s growing appetite for poultry. Their vertical integration strategy in pork proved successful, so they are replicating it with chicken.
Conclusion
Smithfield Foods, now majority owned by Chinese parent company WH Group, is the undisputed leader in American pork production. Over the past 20 years, they have steadily expanded their poultry operations through targeted acquisitions of prominent chicken and barbecue brands. Smithfield now boasts considerable chicken production and processing capacity, particularly across the Northeastern U.S. With their track record of dominating supply chains through vertical integration, Smithfield is poised for rapid growth in chicken as consumer demand for poultry increases. However, their consolidation of power has raised concerns about sustainability, workers’ rights, and excessive foreign control of America’s food system. Smithfield now owns a diverse portfolio of chicken and barbecue brands, but their meteoric rise to become hog kings of America may not sit well with everyone at the dinner table.