Hormel Foods’ century-old sausage recipe arsenal may have fallen into enemy hands, as the company files a bombshell lawsuit against rival Johnsonville for allegedly stealing trade secrets through former employees.
Key Takeaways
- Hormel has sued Johnsonville and two former employees for allegedly misappropriating confidential sausage recipes and market intelligence.
- Brett Sims, former Hormel director turned Johnsonville Chief Supply Chain Officer, allegedly orchestrated the theft of trade secrets after changing companies in 2023.
- Jeremy Rummel, another ex-Hormel employee, allegedly forwarded sensitive company information to his email before resigning.
- The lawsuit highlights the competitive $8.5 billion U.S. sausage market and the significant economic disadvantage Hormel claims from the alleged corporate espionage.
- Hormel seeks return and deletion of confidential data, plus unspecified monetary damages, claiming Johnsonville refused to cooperate when informed of the alleged misconduct.
Corporate Espionage in the Sausage Industry
In an unprecedented legal battle between America’s sausage giants, Hormel Foods has filed a lawsuit against competitor Johnsonville, alleging a coordinated conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The lawsuit centers on Brett Sims, who previously held a director position at Hormel before joining Johnsonville as Chief Supply Chain Officer in 2023, and Jeremy Rummel, another former Hormel employee. According to court documents, these individuals allegedly engaged in a “coordinated effort to interfere with Hormel’s confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information.”
“Hormel is suing its archrival Johnsonville, alleging a former employee left with trade-secret recipes and market intelligence and brought them to the competitor,” reported Fortune in their coverage of the lawsuit.
The Alleged Conspiracy
The court filings paint a picture of calculated corporate espionage. Rummel allegedly forwarded “highly sensitive confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information to his personal email account” before he departed from Hormel. When confronted about this breach, Rummel reportedly admitted to sending the information but then coordinated with Johnsonville’s legal team to protect his new role at the company. This behavior led to Rummel’s termination from Hormel for breaching its Code of Ethical Business Conduct.
“Rummel was attempting to take Hormel’s confidential business information and trade secrets to Johnsonville for the express purpose of exploiting the information for Johnsonville’s benefit and to Hormel’s detriment,” states the lawsuit.
Further complicating matters, Sims is accused of violating a non-solicitation agreement by attempting to recruit Hormel employees to Johnsonville. Both Sims and Rummel had signed non-compete contracts in 2019, making their alleged actions potential contract violations. When Hormel approached Johnsonville about these concerns, the company reportedly refused to cooperate in addressing the alleged unlawful behavior.
High Stakes in the Sausage Market
The lawsuit comes at a time when competition in the American sausage market is particularly fierce. Americans spent $8.5 billion on sausages and hot dogs in supermarkets last year, with Los Angeles alone consuming over 27 million pounds of hot dogs in 2024. Johnsonville recently capitalized on this demand by announcing a massive 80-pound, 249-link variety pack to celebrate the popularity of sausages.
“The sausage market is increasingly competitive, and improper use of confidential, proprietary, and trade-secret information, or wrongful competition or solicitation, could cause a manufacturer significant competitive economic disadvantage,” the lawsuit states, highlighting the potential financial impact of the alleged theft.
Hormel is seeking the return and deletion of all confidential data, including sausage recipes and market intelligence, along with unspecified monetary damages. When asked for comment, Hormel provided a brief statement: “Hormel Foods does not typically comment on pending litigation, but we do believe that our complaint speaks for itself.” Johnsonville, Sims, Rummel, and other parties named in the lawsuit have not responded to requests for comment from various news outlets.
