NEW YORK — Sara Lee Corp. announced it will name its North American meat and food service business Hillshire Brands Co., a name inspired from the Hillshire Farms brand that Sara Lee purchased in 1971, effective June 28. Hillshire Brands will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HSH.”
The Hillshire Brands business will include the Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Aidells, Gallo Salame and State Fair Brands. The Hillshire Brands’ Foodservice division will continue to be known as Sara Lee Foodservice.
“As a pure-play company with strong momentum, we needed a name and identity that captures the potential of this new organization,” said Sean Connolly, chief executive officer of Sara Lee North American Retail and Foodservice, who will become c.e.o. 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.”
Sara Lee will become two independent pure-play, publicly traded companies on June 28, at which point the Sara Lee corporate name will cease to exist. The other company will be D.E Master Blenders 1753, which will focus on international coffee and tea.