Century buys Hunt’s from Gokongwei

The country’s leading canned food producer Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) has expanded its food portfolio with the acquisition of the Philippine license for pork and beans brand “Hunt’s” from the Gokongwei-led group.

CNPF has struck a deal to purchase the rights to manufacture, sell and distribute Hunt’s branded products in the Philippines from Hunt-Universal Robina Corp., a 50-50 joint venture between locally listed Universal Robina Corp. and ConAgra Foods, one of North America’s leading packaged food companies.

ConAgra will continue to own the Hunt’s trademark globally.

The acquisition by CNPF will also include the transfer of manufacturing assets and inventory related to HURC’s Hunt’s product lineup. Currently, this lineup includes pork and beans, tomato-based spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and marinade sauce.

“We are excited about expanding our portfolio with brands and products that resonate with Filipino consumers. Hunt’s is a welcome addition with its local dominance in pork and beans, its emerging presence in condiments and its potential to be another source of growth for us,” CNPF president and chief executive Christopher Po said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

For its part, URC decided to sell the business after conducting a strategic review of its portfolio, thereafter shifting focus to core categories, namely snack foods and beverages, which are geared toward convenience and on-the-go occasions, URC president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei.

“Hunt’s was the first joint venture brand of URC in partnership with ConAgra and together we have built a strong grocery category in pork and beans and sauces,” Gokongwei said.

Given the shift in focus, Gokongwei said URC and ConAgra decided to spin off Hunt’s, adding that CNPF’s strength in the grocery category could further add value and take the brand to new levels of growth in the years to come.

CNPF, which has about four decades of track record in brand-building, has a roster of household names that include Century Tuna, Argentina Corned Beef, 555, Angel and Birch Tree, maintaining market leadership in both the canned tuna and canned meat segments.

Hunt’s, one of the world’s foremost leaders in the field of tomato-based products, has a long heritage, spanning more than 100 years globally. It entered the Philippines in 1984, initially with a one-product strategy, launching the iconic Hunt’s Pork and Beans.

Today, Hunt’s expanded product portfolio includes other tomato-based culinary sauces, and dominates the ready-to-eat canned beans category with an 86-percent market share locally.

In late 2016, CNPF also acquired the Kamayan trademark for North America, one of the top names for shrimp paste, which represented the company’s initial foray into branded categories outside its core segments of marine, meat and milk.

Last year, CNPF chalked up a net profit of P2.66 billion, an increase of 37 percent year-on-year on the back of double-digit branded revenue growth, improved profitability and the full-year consolidation of its coconut business.