Meat+Poultry - December 2016 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES

SMITHFIELD TO ACQUIRE CLOUGHERTY PACKING
Smithfield Foods Inc., Smithfield, Virginia, announced
on Nov. 21 its plans to acquire Clougherty Packing LLC,
a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minnesota,
for $145 million. The acquisition adds two brands,
Los Angeles-based Farmer John and Saag's Specialty
Meats, San Leandro, California, to Smithfield's portfolio
and includes two processing plants and three PFFJ
LLC farms in Arizona, California and Wyoming while
adding 2,000 employees to Smithfield's payroll. The
deal is subject to capital adjustments and regulatory
approvals, but was expected to close within 30 days.
Clougherty Packing's Farmer John operation
slaughters about 7,400 hogs per day and reported sales
of about $500 million in fiscal 2016, according to Hormel.
It produces a variety of bacon, hot dog and sausage
products and has been in operation since 1931. Saag's
specializes in the production of premium deli meat and
sausage products.
Smithfield President and CEO Kenneth Sullivan said
the move is part of the company's strategy to expand
operations to include facilities on the West Coast.
"We are better positioned to take advantage of our
long-term strategic growth goals, which includes an
increasingly diversified customer and consumer base and
greater supply chain efficiency," Sullivan said.
Jim Snee, president and CEO of Hormel, said that
while the divested businesses have a track record of good
performance, "they no longer align with our company's
growth strategies."
He added that the divestiture will integrate Farmer
John's processing plants with the live production
operations that supply them, most of which are currently
owned by Smithfield.

MCDONALD'S NIXES 'CREATE
YOUR TASTE' PLATFORM
McDonald's Corp., Oakbrook, Illinois, announced it
will discontinue its "Create Your Taste" menu platform
which let customers customize their burgers using digital
ordering kiosks.
The company said "Create Your Taste" was a test

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rolled out in select cities. Now, McDonald's is testing a
customizable burger platform called "Signature Crafted
Recipes." Under the Signature Crafted platform diners
can customize their sandwich with topping "bundles." The
bundles are:
x Buffalo Bacon - blue cheese spread, buffalo sauce,
applewood smoked bacon, tomato, shredded lettuce
x Pico de Gallo - guacamole, white cheddar cheese,
ranch sauce, lettuce
x Maple Bacon Dijon - maple-smoked bacon, grilled
onions, mild Dijon sauce, white cheddar cheese, lettuce
x Deluxe - red onion, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise
The toppings can be added to a crispy chicken or
grilled chicken filet or a beef patty and served on an
artisan roll, sesame seed bun or potato bun. In June,
McDonald's added a Signature Sriracha sandwich which
features a Sriracha Big Mac sauce, white cheddar cheese,
onions, baby spinach, baby kale and a tomato slice.
"We continue to test a more modern restaurant
experience in select markets in the US featuring kiosks
that allow customers to pick their bun, protein and
ingredients under the Signature Crafted concept and also
enjoy table service," McDonald's spokeswoman Terri
Hickey said. 
"We are excited for our customers to experience the
interactive and engaging features at these restaurants
as well as the Signature Crafted concept, and we look
forward to leveraging their feedback in our journey to
bring a new level of convenience and excitement to the
McDonald's restaurant experience."

MENU TWEAKS, CUSTOMER VOLUME
IMPACT WENDY'S IN Q3
More customers visited Wendy's restaurants in the recent
quarter, drawn in by such deals as 50 cent Frosty frozen
treats and a new grilled chicken sandwich.
"Our third-quarter same-restaurant sales for the North
America system were driven by strong customer count
growth and a slight increase in average check," said Todd
Penegor, president and CEO of the Dublin, Ohio-based
chain, during a Nov. 9 earnings call with financial analysts.
"The benefits from our brand initiatives, image activation
and our system's continued progress on disciplined
pricing have contributed to us bringing in more customers
to our restaurants.
"We believe the healthy and sustainable way to grow
is to remain committed to driving profitable customer
counts. We are focused on bringing in more customers
more often to our restaurants. This is more important
than ever, as the gap between food-at-home and
food-away-from-home prices in the restaurant industry
continues to widen."
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