Worker at well-known meat company takes its secret recipe and later joins rival firm.

Hormel Foods Sues Johnsonville Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft

A former employee of Hormel Foods, a Fortune 500 packaged meat firm, is at the center of a new federal lawsuit for taking confidential sausage recipes and market details with him to rival Johnsonville.

The situation escalated after Brett Sims, a long-time Hormel employee, took on the position of Chief Supply Chain Officer at Johnsonville in June 2023 and reportedly started recruiting other Hormel staff to the Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin-based company, allegedly breaching his non-compete agreement.

In fact, Sims is accused of bringing along his former colleague, Jeremy Lammel, during the spring. Before notifying Hormel about his job change, Rummel allegedly transferred “product formulas, processing procedures, acquired target information, marketing strategy information” to his personal email.

The legal claim states, “Rummel was attempting to integrate Hormel’s confidential business and trade information into Johnsonville to benefit Johnsonville at Hormel’s expense.”

After Hormel challenged Lammel, he supposedly rushed to Sims’ residence to send sensitive information via email, planning to discuss how to handle Hormel’s interview details and strategize for his new role at Johnsonville.

Founded 130 years ago, Hormel produces popular brands like Spam, Skippy, and Planters, and has charged Johnsonville and the two ex-employees with conspiring to unlawfully obtain Hormel’s trade secrets.

The lawsuit argues that misuse of confidential information in an increasingly competitive sausage market can severely disadvantage manufacturers, which is quite concerning, to say the least.

Additionally, Johnsonville reportedly received a notification from Hormel addressing “Sims Overview” and Lammel’s contract violation while detailing their alleged illegal activities and demanding several assurances. However, the lawsuit doesn’t specify any arguments against this letter.