Hunt's
An American brand of preserved tomato products, including ketchup, sauces, paste, and canned tomatoes.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Hunt's is an American packaged-food brand best known for preserved tomato products. Its portfolio includes ketchup, tomato sauce, tomato paste, whole, diced, stewed, puréed, and crushed tomatoes, as well as organic and no-salt-added tomato products. The brand also appears on spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, and selected canned meal-helper products. The business began in 1888 in Sebastopol, California, where brothers Joseph and William Hunt established the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co. The company moved to Santa Rosa in 1890 and to Hayward in 1895, following the growth of California's fruit and vegetable-processing industries. Hunt's initially operated as a broad canning business, processing and shipping soups, fruit, vegetables, and juices. By 1941, its plant was reportedly shipping approximately one hundred million cans annually. In 1943, the company was acquired by Val Vita Food Products, a competing California food company associated with Norton Simon. The combined business retained the Hunt's name and became Hunt Food and Industries, Inc. Under the new ownership, the company concentrated more heavily on canned tomato products, particularly prepared tomato sauce. This specialization became central to the brand's later identity. Hunt's subsequently passed through several corporate combinations. Hunt's Foods merged with the Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Company in 1960 to create Hunt-Wesson Foods. Hunt-Wesson later became part of Norton Simon Inc. after a 1968 combination involving the McCall Corporation and Canada Dry. Norton Simon was acquired by Esmark in 1983, and Esmark merged with Beatrice Foods the following year. In 1985, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice and pursued a divestiture program. Hunt-Wesson, including the Hunt's brands, was sold to ConAgra Foods in 1990. The brand remains part of Conagra Brands' grocery portfolio. Its products are positioned as familiar, accessible, everyday pantry foods rather than as a specialist or premium culinary label. Tomato preservation, convenience, and broad household use are central to its proposition. Hunt's products are used in cooking, pasta dishes, sandwiches, grilling, and other routine meals. Hunt's has also made visible changes to product labeling and formulations. In 1988, the label for its catsup was changed to use the spelling "ketchup." In 2010, the ketchup formula temporarily omitted high-fructose corn syrup and listed tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt, and other seasonings among its ingredients. The formulation returned to including high-fructose corn syrup in 2012. In 2018, the brand expanded its consumer marketing through an endorsement agreement with NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose public association with ketchup helped support the brand's cultural visibility.
History
Hunt's traces its origins to 1888, when Joseph and William Hunt founded the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co. in Sebastopol, California. The business was established during a period of rapid expansion in California's agricultural and food-processing economy. It moved to nearby Santa Rosa in 1890 and then to Hayward in 1895. In its early decades, the company operated as a general canner, handling products from the state's fruit and vegetable industries rather than concentrating exclusively on tomatoes. The operation expanded substantially. By 1941, its plant was shipping roughly one hundred million cans a year across categories that included soup, fruit, vegetables, and juices. This scale made Hunt's a significant participant in the American canned-food business before the brand became primarily identified with tomatoes. A major ownership change occurred in 1943, when Hunt's was acquired by Val Vita Food Products, a competing company founded in the early 1930s and based in Fullerton, California. Val Vita was associated with Norton Simon, who led the combined enterprise toward a more focused product strategy. The merged company retained the Hunt's name and was incorporated as Hunt Food and Industries, Inc. Under this management, canned tomato products—especially prepared tomato sauce—became the core of the business and the basis of the brand's long-term identity. In 1960, Hunt's Foods combined with the Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Company to form Hunt-Wesson Foods. In 1968, Hunt-Wesson became part of Norton Simon Inc. through a broader combination involving the McCall Corporation and Canada Dry. Corporate ownership changed again when Norton Simon was acquired by Esmark in 1983. Esmark merged with Beatrice Foods in 1984, and in 1985 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice with the intention of selling or reorganizing parts of the business. Hunt-Wesson, which included the Hunt's brands, was sold to ConAgra Foods in 1990. The former Hunt-Wesson organization later relocated its ConAgra Grocery Products office from Fullerton to Irvine in 1999; the Irvine office closed in 2006. Hunt's is now part of Conagra Brands and continues as a grocery brand centered on preserved tomato products. The brand's product identity has broadened within that category. In addition to tomato sauce and ketchup, Hunt's has been used for tomato paste; whole, diced, stewed, puréed, and crushed tomatoes; organic and no-salt-added varieties; spaghetti sauce; barbecue sauce; and canned recipe-helper products. The Hunt's name has also appeared historically on certain other canned foods and related products, including canned potatoes, canned peaches, Manwich products, and Snack Pack pudding, although these associations do not define the brand's current core positioning. Hunt's has made several notable packaging and product decisions. In 1988, its catsup label adopted the spelling "ketchup." In 2010, the company temporarily removed high-fructose corn syrup from its ketchup formula, but the ingredient returned in 2012. In December 2018, Hunt's signed NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes to an endorsement agreement, using his widely reported affection for ketchup as a marketing connection. The brand's continuing proposition is that of a familiar, mass-market pantry supplier offering convenient tomato ingredients and sauces for ordinary household cooking.
- 2018
Patrick Mahomes endorsement deal
[1]Hunt's signs NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes to an endorsement agreement.
- 2012
Ketchup formula changes again
[1]The ketchup formulation returns to including high-fructose corn syrup.
- 2010
Temporary ketchup reformulation
[1]Hunt's ketchup temporarily removes high-fructose corn syrup from its ingredient formulation.
- 2006
Irvine office closes
[1]The Irvine office associated with ConAgra Grocery Products is closed.
- 1999
ConAgra Grocery Products office moves to Irvine
[1]The former Hunt-Wesson organization relocates its grocery-products office from Fullerton to Irvine, California.
- 1990
Hunt-Wesson is sold to ConAgra Foods
[1]ConAgra Foods acquires Hunt-Wesson and the Hunt's brands.
- 1988
Catsup label changes to ketchup
[1]Hunt's changes the spelling on its catsup label to "ketchup."
- 1985
Beatrice is acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
[1]Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquires Beatrice and begins a program of business divestitures that later affects Hunt-Wesson.
- 1983
Norton Simon is acquired by Esmark
[1]Esmark acquires Norton Simon, placing Hunt-Wesson within a new corporate ownership structure.
- 1968
Hunt-Wesson becomes part of Norton Simon Inc.
[1]A combination involving Hunt-Wesson, the McCall Corporation, and Canada Dry creates Norton Simon Inc.
Products and positioning
A mainstream American pantry brand focused on convenient, widely available preserved tomato products and everyday cooking.
Condiments
Hunt's Ketchup
Hunt's ketchup is one of the brand's most recognizable consumer products. It is sold as a conventional tomato-based condiment for sandwiches, burgers, fries, cooking, and other everyday uses. The product has undergone notable labeling and formulation changes, including the 1988 shift from the spelling catsup to ketchup and a temporary 2010 removal of high-fructose corn syrup.
Canned tomato products
Hunt's Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce became central to Hunt's identity after the company narrowed its strategic focus toward canned tomato products under Norton Simon's management in the 1940s. The sauce is positioned as a convenient pantry ingredient for pasta, casseroles, soups, stews, and other cooked dishes.
Canned tomato products
Hunt's Canned Tomatoes
The canned-tomato range includes whole, diced, stewed, puréed, and crushed tomatoes. These products provide shelf-stable tomato ingredients for home cooking and are offered in multiple variants, including organic and no-salt-added options.
Canned tomato products
Hunt's Tomato Paste
Hunt's tomato paste is a concentrated tomato ingredient intended to add flavor, color, and body to sauces, soups, stews, and other recipes. It extends the brand's core tomato-preservation proposition into a compact cooking format.
Prepared sauces
Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce
Hunt's spaghetti sauce is a prepared pasta sauce offering within the brand's broader tomato portfolio. It is designed as a convenience product for household meals, building on Hunt's established association with canned tomato sauce.
Condiments and sauces
Hunt's Barbecue Sauce
The barbecue-sauce line extends Hunt's beyond tomato ingredients used primarily in cooking and into ready-to-use table and grilling condiments. It remains connected to the brand's tomato-based flavor platform.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Patrick Mahomes endorsement
United States
Hunt's signed NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes as an endorser. His public reputation for eating ketchup with unconventional foods gave the brand a distinctive personality and a link to sports and popular culture.
Outcome. The agreement increased the brand's association with Mahomes and his widely discussed enthusiasm for ketchup; broader campaign performance is not specified in the reference material.
Brand decisions
2012
Return to the prior ketchup formulationGeneration changeBackground
The no-high-fructose-corn-syrup ketchup formulation had been used temporarily since 2010.
Action taken
Hunt's restored high-fructose corn syrup to the ketchup formulation.
Aftermath
The product reverted from the temporary 2010 formulation.
2010
Temporary removal of high-fructose corn syrupGeneration changeBackground
Hunt's altered its ketchup ingredient formulation.
Action taken
For a limited period, the ketchup used tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt, and other seasonings without high-fructose corn syrup.
Aftermath
The formula changed back to include high-fructose corn syrup in May 2012.
1988
Change from catsup to ketchup labelingOtherBackground
The brand updated the spelling used on its catsup packaging.
Action taken
Hunt's changed the label terminology from catsup to ketchup.
Aftermath
The brand continued marketing its tomato condiment under the ketchup spelling.
1943
Concentration on canned tomato productsStrategyBackground
Following Val Vita Food Products' acquisition of Hunt's, Norton Simon's management chose to focus the business more heavily on canned tomato products, particularly prepared tomato sauce.
Action taken
The company shifted from a broad canned-food operation toward a more specialized tomato-product portfolio.
Aftermath
Tomato products became the foundation of Hunt's long-term brand identity.
Recent events
Reported
Ring and Conagra collaborate on a new Hunt's ketchup bottle[2]
Ring Container Technologies announced its collaboration with Conagra Brands on a new bottle for Hunt's Ketchup. The bottle, made using Ring's BarrierGuard OxygenSmart technology, was available on store shelves at the time of the announcement.
Sources2 sources
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