- Hormel is suing Johnsonvllethe accused former employees provided trade secret recipes and market intelligence. Last year, Americans spent $8.5 billion on sausages and hot dogs.
Call it a small battle or sausage construction. Regardless of the label, there is a stalemate brew in the sausage world.
Hormel is Prosecuting its competition Johnsonville accused a former employee of leaving behind trade secret recipes and market intelligence and bringing it to competitors.
“The sausage market is becoming increasingly competitive and the improper use of confidential, proprietary and trade secret information, or improper competition or tendering, could lead to competitive economic disadvantages for manufacturers,” the lawsuit said.
Hormel also accused another former employee of trying to lure other Hormel employees to Johnsonville after changing jobs, violating a non-verification protocol.
Hormel claimed that Johnsonville did not cooperate when sending a letter outlining the “illegal conduct” of two former employees, and he requested the return and removal of confidential data and unspecified currency losses.
“Comments are not usually made on pending lawsuits, but we do think our complaints are talking to ourselves,” Hormel said in a statement. Johnsonville did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Sausage was a big business in the U.S. last August, and the Texas Manufacturing Outlook for the Federal Reserve in Dallas noted that the dinner sausage category has not seen much growth, which is usually a sign of a recession. Last year, Americans spent $8.5 billion According to the National Hot Dogs and Sausage Commission, sausages (and hot dogs, are a form of sausage) in American supermarkets.
(Another interesting fact: Los Angeles has more hot dogs than any other city, buying more than 27 million pounds of hot dogs in 2024.)
To celebrate the popularity of food, Johnsonville recently announced 80 lbs, 249 chain break varieties pack.
