S&W Fine Foods

Del Monte Foods

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Processed food
Founded	1886
Headquarters	3003 Oak Road Contra Costa Centre, California, United States (Walnut Creek mailing address)
Area served	United States, Canada, South America, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent
Key people	Nils Lommerin (CEO)
Products	Canned fruit, canned vegetables, broth, sauce, fruit cups, and others.
Owner	Del Monte Pacific Limited
Number of employees	7,800 (FY 2015)
Website	www.DelMontefoods.com

Del Monte Foods, Inc (trading as Del Monte Foods) is a North American food production and distribution company headquartered at 3003 Oak Road, Walnut Creek, California, USA. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded processed food for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $1.8 billion of annual sales. Its portfolio of brands includes Del Monte, S&W, Contadina, College Inn, Fruit Burst. Nils Lommerin, is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Del Monte Foods. Several Del Monte products hold the number one or two market share position. The company also produces, distributes and markets private label food. In 2014, Del Monte Foods, Inc., along with its brands Del Monte, S&W, Contadina, College Inn, Fruit Naturals, Orchard Select and SunFresh was acquired by the Filipino multinational food and beverage company Del Monte Pacific Limited in an acquisition deal that cost US$1.67 billion. Assets that are under Del Monte Foods, Inc. but were not part of the deal will continue to operate as a separate company under the name Big Heart Pet Brands, Inc.

In the 1870s and 1880s, California became a major producer of fruits and vegetables. In 1886, the Del Monte name premiered, originally used in the 1880s by an Oakland, California, foods distributor to designate a premium blend of coffee prepared for the Hotel Del Monte on the Monterey Peninsula. By 1892, the Del Monte brand was introduced when the firm expanded its business and selected Del Monte as the brand name for its new line of canned peaches. In 1898, the California Fruit Canners Association (CFCA) formed when 18 West Coast canning companies merged. The Del Monte brand was one of several brands marketed by the new company. It introduced the Del Monte Shield in 1909.

Under the leadership of George Newell Armsby, in 1916 CFCA added two more canners and a food brokerage house, incorporated itself as California Packing Corporation, or Calpak, and began marketing its products under the Del Monte brand. The new company grew to operate more than 60 canneries in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Alaska. In 1917, it acquired pineapple farms and a cannery in Hawaii and, in the 1920s, added canneries in Florida and the Midwest, as well as in the Philippines. After WWII, it constructed or purchased more facilities overseas. These multinational operations made the name California Packing Corporation obsolete, and in June 1967, the corporation adopted the name of its leading brand to become Del Monte Corporation.