Former Hormel Foods employee Brett Sims has been caught red-handed stealing secret sausage recipes and handing them over to rival Johnsonville, prompting a federal lawsuit that exposes corporate espionage in America’s $8.5 billion sausage industry.
Key Takeaways
- Hormel Foods has filed a federal lawsuit against former employee Brett Sims for allegedly sharing proprietary recipes and marketing strategies with competitor Johnsonville.
- Jeremy Rummel, another ex-Hormel employee, allegedly emailed confidential company information to his account before resigning in June 2023.
- The lawsuit claims Johnsonville failed to cooperate when informed of the alleged theft of trade secrets, prompting Hormel to seek monetary damages and the return of confidential information.
- Both former employees had signed non-compete contracts in 2019, which Hormel claims were violated when they joined Johnsonville and attempted to recruit other Hormel employees.
- The case highlights the intense competition in America’s sausage market, where consumers spent $8.5 billion on sausages and hot dogs in supermarkets last year.
Corporate Espionage in the Sausage Industry
Hormel Foods has launched a federal lawsuit against rival sausage maker Johnsonville, alleging that former employees stole trade secrets and shared them with the competitor. At the center of the controversy is Brett Sims, Hormel’s former director, who now serves as Chief Supply Chain Officer at Johnsonville. The lawsuit claims Sims orchestrated the transfer of confidential recipes and market intelligence through his former colleague, Jeremy Rummel, creating what court documents describe as 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,” stated Hormel in their lawsuit.
The Email Trail of Trade Secret Theft
According to court documents, Rummel forwarded “highly sensitive confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information to his personal email account” before leaving Hormel in June 2023. When confronted about this breach, Rummel allegedly admitted to sending the information and then coordinated with Johnsonville’s legal team to protect his new position at the company. This behavior led to Rummel’s termination from Hormel for violating the company’s Code of Ethical Business Conduct, but the damage was already done.
“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,” the lawsuit states.
Competitive Market and Economic Impact
The lawsuit highlights the intense competition within the American sausage industry, where consumers spent $8.5 billion on sausages and hot dogs in supermarkets last year alone. Los Angeles leads the nation in hot dog consumption, with residents purchasing over 27 million pounds in 2024. With such high stakes, the alleged theft of trade secrets represents a significant threat to Hormel’s market position and competitive advantage.
“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,” states the lawsuit.
Legal Implications and Damages Sought
Hormel is seeking the return and deletion of all confidential data, including sausage recipes and market intelligence, as well as unspecified monetary damages. The company claims that Sims also violated a non-solicitation agreement by attempting to recruit other Hormel employees to join Johnsonville. The lawsuit further alleges that when Hormel approached Johnsonville about these violations, the competitor refused to cooperate or provide assurances regarding the alleged unlawful behavior.
“Hormel Foods does not typically comment on pending litigation, but we do believe that our complaint speaks for itself,” said Hormel in a statement regarding the case.
Neither Sims, Rummel, nor Johnsonville has publicly responded to requests for comment from various news outlets, including The Star Tribune. As this legal battle unfolds, it serves as a stark reminder of the value of intellectual property in America’s food industry and the lengths some competitors might go to gain an edge in a multi-billion-dollar market.
