McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a company in flavor. The company manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry, including retailers, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Additionally, the company partners in several joint ventures involved in the manufacture and sale of flavorful products, the most significant of which is McCormick de Mexico. Major sales, distribution, and production facilities are l...
McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a company in flavor. The company manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry, including retailers, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Additionally, the company partners in several joint ventures involved in the manufacture and sale of flavorful products, the most significant of which is McCormick de Mexico. Major sales, distribution, and production facilities are located in North America, Europe, and China, with additional facilities based in Australia, Central America, Thailand, and South Africa.
Business Segments
The company operates in two business segments: consumer and flavor solutions. Its products deliver flavor when cooking at home, dining out, purchasing a quick service meal, or enjoying a snack. The company offers a range of products, extending from premium to value-priced, to meet the increasing demand for certain product attributes such as clean-label, organic, natural, reduced sodium, gluten-free, and non-GMO (genetically modified organisms).
Consistent with market conditions in each segment, the consumer segment has a higher overall profit margin than the flavor solutions segment. In 2024, the consumer segment contributed approximately 57% of consolidated net sales and 69% of consolidated operating income, while the flavor solutions segment contributed approximately 43% of consolidated net sales and 31% of consolidated operating income.
Consumer
From locations around the world, the company's brands reach consumers in approximately 150 countries and territories. Leading brands in the Americas include McCormick, French’s, Frank’s RedHot, Lawry’s, Cholula Hot Sauce, and Club House, as well as brands such as Gourmet Garden and OLD BAY. The company also markets authentic regional and ethnic brands such as Zatarain’s, Stubb's, Thai Kitchen, and Simply Asia. In the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, major brands include Ducros, Schwartz, Kamis, and La Drogheria brands of spices, herbs, and seasonings, along with an extensive line of Vahiné brand dessert items. In the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region, spices and seasonings are marketed under the McCormick brand, DaQiao, as well as other brands, dessert products under the Aeroplane brand, and packaged chilled herbs under the Gourmet Garden brand.
Approximately two-thirds of the consumer segment sales consist of spices and seasonings and condiments and sauces. Within the spices and seasoning category, the company is the global brand leader and a category leader in key markets. In the condiments and sauces category, it is one of the brand leaders globally and in the U.S. Numerous competitive brands of spices and seasonings and condiments and sauces exist in the U.S., along with additional brands in international markets. Some are owned by large food manufacturers, while others are supplied by small privately-owned companies.
Customers span a variety of retailers, including grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, and e-commerce retailers, served directly and indirectly through distributors or wholesalers. In addition to marketing branded products to these customers, the company is a leading supplier of private label items, also known as store brands. In its businesses in China, foodservice sales are managed by and reported in the consumer segment.
Flavor Solutions
In the flavor solutions segment, the company provides a wide range of products to multinational food manufacturers and foodservice customers. Foodservice customers are supplied with branded, packaged products both directly and indirectly through distributors, except in China, where foodservice sales are managed by and reported in the consumer segment. The company supplies food manufacturers and foodservice customers with customized flavor solutions, many of which have been active for decades. Its range of flavor solutions remains one of the broadest in the industry and includes seasoning blends, spices and herbs, condiments, coating systems, and compound flavors. In addition to a broad range of flavor solutions, long-standing customer relationships demonstrate the company's effectiveness in building customer intimacy. Customers benefit from the company's expertise in many areas, including sensory testing, culinary research, food safety, and flavor application.
Raw Materials
The most significant raw materials used in the business include dairy products, pepper, onion, garlic, capsicums (red peppers and paprika), tomato products, sugar, and salts. Pepper and other spices and herbs are generally sourced from countries outside the U.S. Other raw materials, such as dairy products and onion, are primarily sourced locally, either within the U.S. or from international locations. Since these raw materials are agricultural products, the company is subject to fluctuations in market price and availability caused by weather, growing and harvesting conditions, market conditions, including inflationary cost increases, and other factors beyond the company's control.
The company responds to this volatility in several ways, including strategic raw material purchases, purchasing raw materials for future delivery, customer price adjustments, and cost savings from its Comprehensive Continuous Improvement (CCI) program. Additionally, in some instances, pricing actions have been affected by price elasticity, which unfavorably impacts sales volume and mix.
The company also relies on third-party transportation providers to deliver raw materials and products to customers. There has been, and may continue to be, reduced availability of transportation capacity due to labor shortages and higher fuel costs.
Customers
Products are sold directly to customers as well as through brokers, wholesalers, and distributors. In the consumer segment, products are then sold to consumers under various brands through a variety of retail channels, including grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, and e-commerce. In the flavor solutions segment, products are used by food and beverage manufacturers as ingredients in their finished goods and by foodservice customers for menu items, as well as provided to their own customers for dine-in and take-out occasions, all to enhance the flavor of their foods. Customers in the flavor solutions segment include food manufacturers and the foodservice industry, supplied through various channels, including directly and indirectly through distributors, wholesale foodservice suppliers, and e-commerce.
The company has a large number of customers for its products. Sales to one of its consumer segment customers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., accounted for consolidated sales of approximately 12% in 2024, 2023, and 2022. Sales to one of its flavor solutions segment customers, PepsiCo, Inc., accounted for consolidated sales of approximately 13% in 2024. In 2024, 2023, and 2022, the top three customers in the flavor solutions segment represented between 47% and 49% of global flavor solutions sales.
Trademarks, Licenses, and Patents
The company owns a number of trademark registrations. Although these trademarks are material to the business, the loss of any one of them, except for ‘McCormick,’ ‘French’s,’ ‘Frank’s RedHot,’ ‘Lawry’s,’ ‘Zatarain’s,’ ‘Cholula,’ ‘Stubb's,’ ‘Club House,’ ‘Ducros,’ ‘Schwartz,’ ‘Vahiné,’ ‘OLD BAY,’ ‘Simply Asia,’ ‘Thai Kitchen,’ ‘Kamis,’ ‘La Drogheria,’ ‘DaQiao,’ and ‘Gourmet Garden,’ would not have a material adverse effect on the business. The ‘Mc – McCormick’ trademark is extensively used in connection with the sale of food products in the U.S. and certain non-U.S. markets.
Seasonality
Due to seasonal factors inherent in the business, sales, operating income, and cash from operations are generally higher in the fourth quarter because of the holiday season. This seasonality reflects customer and consumer buying patterns, primarily in the consumer segment.
Governmental Regulation
The company is subject to numerous laws and regulations around the world that apply to its global businesses. In the U.S., the safety, production, transportation, distribution, advertising, labeling, and sale of many products and their ingredients are subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Food Safety Modernization Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; state consumer protection laws; competition laws; anti-corruption laws; customs and trade laws; federal, state, and local workplace health and safety laws; privacy laws; federal, state, and local environmental protection laws; and other federal, state, and local statutes and regulations.
Research and Development
Research and development expense was $102.9 million for 2024.
History
McCormick & Company, Incorporated was founded in 1889. The company was incorporated in 1915.