Posted on 07/03/2025 6:44:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Del Monte Foods, the 138-year-old company best known for its canned fruits and vegetables, has filed for bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer.
Late Tuesday, the company announced it was voluntarily entering Chapter 11 and is going through a sale process for all of its assets. Among the company’s product lines are a number of well-known kitchen staples, including College Inn broths and Contadina canned tomatoes, as well as its flagship Del Monte brand.
“After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,” said President and CEO Greg Longstreet in a statement.
Del Monte said it secured $912.5 million in new funding that will allow the company to remain afloat during the sale process and will keep the company operating as normal as it enters the peak canning season. The company listed liabilities estimated between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to court documents.
He said that the company has “faced challenges intensified by a dynamic macroeconomic environment,” notably consumers cutting back on their spending and a growing shift toward spending on private labels.
Del Monte “says that consumer demand has declined, causing it to incur increased costs related to surplus inventory that it has had to warehouse and attempt to move off shelves with increased promotional spending,” according to Sarah Foss, global head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire. “Consumer preferences have shifted away from preservative-laden canned food in favor of healthier alternatives.”
Del Monte got its start in 1886 and built its famous cannery in San Francisco in 1907. The company claims that it operated the largest fruit and vegetable cannery in the world by 1909.
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Mr. K is a legend among the alumni of Marshfield High (my commonality with gundog). However, the one in Oregon, not the one in Wisconsin (I have met someone from there) or the one in Massachusetts. Marshfield Oregon became Coos Bay in the ‘40s, but the High School retains the traditional name.
Go Pirates.
An old friend of mine is an illustrator, and he did a bunch of work for Del Monte back in the day for their canned goods.
The grocery aisles double as an art gallery.
The company used to have a facility in my small town, and somebody in a local FB group had one concern about the Del Monte news; will they continue to sponsor the local corn fest? Turns out they probably stopped doing that years ago, as well.
Ordered 12 large cans of pears in heavy syrup as soon as I saw the news. Hoping for a good expiration date. It’s already hard to find in the local grocery.
Del Monte Foods is bankrupt. While Del Monte Fresh and its parent company, Del Monte Pacific, headquartered in Singapore, carry on.
Its just a name at this point
for veg
i buy fresh or frozen
canned only as a last resort
and usually a private/local brand
sorry del monte
How is it that a company can only estimate how much they owe as between 1 and 10 billion dollars? No wonder they are bankrupt with such inaccurate and uncertain management as that.
Back in the day, we would feed the family of four amply with one can of vegetables and have some left. Now, a can will barely feed two of us no matter what brand it is. The cans are a lot more water than vegetables.
A lot of the “generic/store brands” are national brands re-labled as generic. When Del Monte goes lots of those generic brands will go too.
This is what I thought is happening - people are switching more and more to store brands - I certainly am.
I experiment with one or two things a week - and most store brands are as good, if not better than the name brands - and a lot cheaper too, even with a coupon.
The only thing I found that is inferior is "chili" sauce - which I use to make chicken wings in my slow cooker. Heinz is very good and also a brand called "Homemade" - the store brand tastes like cocktail sauce, which it probably is.
My grandmother took her incredible recipe - made from her garden - with her to the grave.
I owned a farm in Oregon, Wisconsin for 25 years. :)
‘Shrinkflation!’
I am not sure why, but canned tomatoes, especially real San Marzano tomatoes, seem to be the best choice for marinara sauce. Fresh tomatoes just do not work as well.
Store brands and shopping at Aldi make a HUGE difference in my grocery bill, but the Adli is a 45 minute drive away, so it’s not an every week trip. I stock up there when I am able.
I also LOVE our local Piggly Wiggly and I give them business over our Super-Duper Walmart whenever I can. They have great sales on everyday items. On a $52 bill just the other day, I saved close to $20.00 on sale items. Twenty bucks is STILL twenty bucks to me! ;)
It’s just the two of us now, but we do entertain family and friends a lot.
We have a fairly new Aldi that opened near me - I know people that absolutely swear by Aldi and shop nowhere else.
It’s not my favorite. I prefer Ralphs - on Fridays they have 4X gas points, when you get to 1,000 points it’s $1.00/off/gallon at Shell - which is critical when gas around here is running close to $5.00/gallon. It’s easy to get to 1,000 points b/c I’m not filling up as much and I also entertain a lot in the summer.
One good thing about where I live is there are at least five different grocery stores within a short drive so I can pick and choose as to what is on sale that week - this includes WalMart, CostCo and Target.
Helps to be retired too b/c I have the time to do this now.
It’s a good product for canned food
Them
Bush’s
Libby’s
Ranch Style Beans
Goya
My go to for canned
Canned tomatos we all use in soups and sauces
Hunts is ok
Italian brands usually better
Dramatically
BTTT
Now who is going to put eight great tomatoes in that itty bitty can???
I worked in sales for Del Monte for five years and it was the best job I ever had! They were a great company and even though I had the Wegman’s account in Rochester, NY I also got to visit canneries and spent time at their HQ in San Francisco! I’ll never forget the huge Del Monte kitchens at HQ where products were tested and recipes were formulated. Back in the day Bill Cosby appeared in their print, tv and radio ads. They even had their own jingle that ended with
“ Nothings too good for Daddy and me- Mom brings Del Monte home” 🎵
The foreseeable future is not the long run. Going bankrupt at some unknown point in the future is not what the concept of going concern is about.
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