Hillshire Brands Company, the newly renamed meat business, which will be spun-out of Sara Lee Corporation on 28 June 2011, has said it will focus on new product development and added-value products and snacks.
The company, which includes Sara Lee’s North American Retail and North American Foodservice businesses, said it will deliver growth of a 4-5% per annum and generate an operating profit of 10% by 2015. It will also concentrate on improving operational efficiencies to increase margins.
Sean Connolly, Hillshire Brands Company’s CEO, said: “We envision making Hillshire Brands Company the most innovative meat-centric food company in the US.
“We intend to produce robust shareholder return by strengthening our core brands and expanding into adjacent food categories,”
The new company has six brands, including eight meat brands – Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm and State Fair – and two smaller, artisan brands – Aidells and Gallo.
The company announced that it would divide its meat and beverage businesses into two separate companies last February.
