Del Monte Foods facts for kids

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Del Monte Foods Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Food processing
Founded	1886; 139 years ago (1886)
Headquarters	205 North Wiget Lane Walnut Creek, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Gregory Longstreet (CEO)
Products	Canned fruit, fruit cups, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, stocks, broth, sauce, bubble tea, and others
Owner	NutriAsia
Number of employees	7,000 (2022)
Parent	Del Monte Pacific Limited
Subsidiaries	College Inn Foods, S&W Fine Foods, Inc, Contadina Foods Inc, DLM Foods, LLC, Industrias Citricolas de Montemorelos S.A. de C.V

Del Monte Foods Inc. is an American company that makes and sells food. It is based in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the biggest companies that produces and sells packaged foods in the U.S. It makes about $1.73 billion in sales each year.

The company owns popular brands like Del Monte, S&W, Contadina, College Inn, Kitchen Basics, Joyba, and Take Root. Greg Longstreet is the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Del Monte Foods. Many Del Monte products are top sellers in their categories. The company also makes food for other brands, known as "private-label" products.

In 2014, Del Monte Foods, Inc. was bought by Del Monte Pacific Limited for about $1.67 billion. The part of Del Monte Foods that made pet food was not included in this deal. It became a separate company called Big Heart Pet Brands. Later, in 2015, The J.M. Smucker Company bought Big Heart Pet Brands.

The Story of Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods Around the World
What Products Does Del Monte Make?
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Del Monte Foods

How Del Monte Began

In the late 1800s, California became a major place for growing fruits and vegetables. The Hotel Del Monte was a famous resort. It was located on the Monterey Peninsula.

Around the 1880s, a food seller in Oakland, California started using the "Del Monte" name. They used it for a special coffee blend made for the hotel. By 1892, the company grew. They chose Del Monte as the brand name for their new line of canned peaches.

In 1898, 18 canning companies from the West Coast joined together. They formed the California Fruit Canners Association (CFCA). The Del Monte brand was one of many brands this new company sold. In 1909, they introduced the famous Del Monte Shield logo.

Growing Bigger: Calpak and Beyond

In 1916, under the leadership of George Newell Armsby, CFCA grew even more. It joined with other canning companies and a food brokerage firm. They became the California Packing Corporation, or Calpak. This new company started selling products under the Del Monte and Sunkist brands.

Calpak quickly expanded. It operated over 60 canneries in states like Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Alaska. In 1917, they bought pineapple farms and a cannery in Hawaii. In the 1920s, they added canneries in Florida, the Midwest, and the Philippines. After World War II, they built or bought even more factories overseas. Because they were operating all over the world, the name California Packing Corporation didn't fit anymore. So, in June 1967, the company changed its name to Del Monte Corporation, after its most popular brand.

In 1972, Del Monte was the first big U.S. food company to start putting nutrition labels on all its products. This helped people know what was in their food.

Changes and New Owners

Del Monte became part of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. in 1979. This company later became RJR Nabisco, Inc. In 1988, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought RJR Nabisco. After this, RJR Nabisco sold off several parts of Del Monte. The fresh fruit business was sold to Polly Peck. RJR Nabisco kept Del Monte Canada and Venezuela.

The remaining food processing parts, known as Del Monte Foods, were sold in 1989. They were bought by Merrill Lynch, Citicorp Venture Capital, and Kikkoman. Kikkoman also bought the Del Monte brand in Asia (except for the Philippines, India, and Myanmar). In 1990, the European part of Del Monte was bought by its managers. Hawaiian Punch was sold to Procter & Gamble.

Del Monte continued to sell off parts of its business. It sold some of its Philippines division in 1991 and the rest in 1996. In 1993, the dried fruit division was sold. In 1996, Del Monte sold its pudding division to Kraft. Also in 1996, Del Monte Mexico was sold, along with its Central American and Caribbean operations.

Texas Pacific Group bought Del Monte in 1997. Del Monte then bought Contadina from Nestlé in 1997. It also bought back Del Monte Venezuela from Nabisco in 1998. Del Monte Foods became a publicly traded company again in 1999. This meant its shares could be bought and sold on the stock market.

In 2002, Del Monte bought several brands from the big U.S. food company Heinz. This deal almost tripled the size of Del Monte Foods. Del Monte then set up an East Coast office in Pittsburgh, where Heinz was based. In 2021, they moved their headquarters to Penn Center West.

New Brands and Focus

In 2000, Del Monte gained the rights to the SunFresh brand. This brand sells premium citrus and tropical fruits. The next year, in 2001, it acquired the worldwide rights to the S&W brand. S&W sells processed fruit, vegetables, tomato products, and special sauces.

On September 28, 2004, the place where Del Monte's first plant in San Francisco used to be was named Del Monte Square. It was once the world's largest fruit and vegetable cannery.

In 2006, Del Monte became the second-largest pet food company. This happened after they sold their baby food business and their private label soup and gravy businesses. They then bought two important pet brands. They sold their Soup and Infant Feeding business in April 2006 to TreeHouse Foods, Inc. Del Monte bought Meow Mix in May 2006. They also acquired Milk-Bone in July of that year from Kraft Foods.

In June 2008, Del Monte announced it was selling its seafood division, StarKist. It was sold to Dongwon Enterprise Company from South Korea for $363 million. Del Monte said StarKist no longer fit with their company goals. They wanted to focus more on pet food and fruits and vegetables that had higher profits.

On March 8, 2011, the company announced it was bought by a group of investors. This group was led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Del Monte's stock was then removed from the New York Stock Exchange.

On February 19, 2014, Del Monte Pacific Limited, a food producer from the Philippines, finished buying Del Monte's consumer food business. This deal cost about $1.675 billion. The part of the company that was left was the pet food division. It was renamed Big Heart Pet Brands.

In 2015, Del Monte Foods bought Sager Creek. Sager Creek owned brands like Vegetable, Freshlike, Popeye, Trappley's, and Allen's canned vegetables. Del Monte Foods later sold these Sager Creek brands in 2017. Also in 2015, Del Monte Foods moved its main office to Walnut Creek, California from San Francisco.

Del Monte Foods Around the World

Del Monte Foods sells packaged food products under the Del Monte brand in the United States. However, other companies use the Del Monte brand name in different parts of the world.

Lotte Chilsung, a South Korean drink company, started working with Del Monte Juice Products in 1982.
Japan-based Kikkoman bought Del Monte Asia in 1989.
The Del Monte brand in Canada was kept by Nabisco when the rest of the business was sold. Nabisco later joined with Kraft Foods in 2000. In 2006, Kraft sold Del Monte Canada to other companies. ConAgra Foods bought Del Monte Canada in 2012. In 2018, Bonduelle acquired Del Monte Canada.
Del Monte's operations in Central America and the Caribbean were sold to local investors in 1996.
Del Monte Europe (which included African operations) was bought by its managers in 1990 and renamed Del Monte International. Later, Fresh Del Monte Produce acquired Del Monte Europe.
In 1996, Del Monte Mexico was sold. It later became part of International Home Foods, which was bought by ConAgra Foods in 2000.
Del Monte sold parts of Del Monte Philippines in 1991 and 1996. Del Monte Pacific Limited (based in Singapore) became the main company. In 2005, a Philippine company called NutriAsia bought control of Del Monte Pacific Limited. NutriAsia makes popular food brands like UFC and Mang Tomas. In 2014, Del Monte Pacific Limited bought Del Monte Foods.
The Del Monte brand in South America was kept by Nabisco when the rest of the business was sold. Del Monte Foods bought back Del Monte South America from Nabisco in 1998.
Fresh Del Monte Produce was created in 1989. This happened when RJR Nabisco sold the fresh fruit part of Del Monte Foods.
Del Monte Dried Fruit was sold in 1993. It later became part of Sunsweet Growers.