Sara Lee has chosen Hillshire Brands Company as the new name for its North American business. Sara Lee will become two independent pure-play, publicly-traded companies on June 28, 2012. DE Master Blenders 1753 will focus on international coffee and tea and Hillshire Brands will focus on meat-centric food products and foodservice operations. Hillshire Brands will include several popular, market-leading consumer brands including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm,BallPark, Aidells, Gallo Salame and State Fair. Hillshire Brands will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
“As a pure-play company with strong momentum, we needed a name and identity that captures the potential of this new organization,” says Sean Connolly, chief executive officer of Sara Lee North American Retail and Foodservice, who will become chief executive officer of Hillshire Brands. “Hillshire Brands represents our strong heritage in quality and great taste, as well as our ambitions for growing our portfolio of iconic brands in the future.” The Hillshire name was inspired by the Hillshire Farm brand, which Sara Lee acquired in 1971.
