who owns butterball turkey

The Ownership History of Butterball Turkey Brand

For over 60 years, Butterball has been one of the most recognized and popular turkey brands for American households during the holidays. But who actually owns and operates this famous poultry producer? The ownership of Butterball turkey has changed hands multiple times between large corporations over the decades.

The Origins of the Butterball Brand

While the Butterball turkey brand has been around since the 1940s it was first created and popularized in the 1950s by Leo Peters. Peters worked for the Swift and Co. meat processing company and purchased the commercial rights to the Butterball trademark in 1951. By 1954, Peters was producing dressed whole turkeys under the Butterball brand name, with a focus on broad-breasted birds known for rich flavor.

Peters licensed the famous brand to Swift for the first 10 years. Then in the 1960s he sold the full rights to Swift, which was later acquired by the large food corporation ConAgra in 1990. So through the later decades of the 20th century, ConAgra was the parent company behind the famous Butterball turkeys so many Americans roasted for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Maxwell Group and Smithfield Take Ownership

In 2006, ConAgra sold off its entire Butterball turkey business to Carolina Turkeys, a privately held North Carolina company. Shortly after, Carolina Turkeys renamed their corporation to Butterball LLC.

The ownership behind Butterball LLC was a joint venture between two other large food companies – Smithfield Foods and Maxwell Farms. Smithfield was a publicly traded, multinational meat and poultry processor. Maxwell Farms was a private North Carolina company and subsidiary of the Goldsboro Milling Company.

Under this 50/50 joint venture agreement, Smithfield and Maxwell Farms jointly owned and operated the Butterball brand from 2006 onward. This new ownership supported major investments into Butterball’s facilities and helped cement its market leading position in holiday turkey products.

Seaboard Corporation Enters the Picture

In late 2010, Smithfield decided to exit the joint venture agreement and sold its 50% stake in Butterball to Maxwell Farms for an estimated $175 million. This gave Maxwell full ownership of the Butterball company for the first time.

However, Maxwell did not retain sole ownership for long. Almost immediately, they struck a new deal with Seaboard Corporation to sell a 50% share of Butterball. This transition of ownership occured in the fall of 2010.

So since 2010, the ownership of the iconic Butterball brand has been:

• 50% owned by Maxwell Foods (a subsidiary of Goldsboro Milling Co.)
• 50% owned by Seaboard Corporation

Seaboard is a large integrated food and agriculture company that has continued to invest in Butterball’s growth and modernization. This shared ownership arrangement between Seaboard and Maxwell has remained stable for over a decade now.

Why Butterball Changed Hands Multiple Times

The ownership of a prominent brand like Butterball changed so frequently during the 2000s for several likely reasons:

• Large food corporations looked to optimize their portfolios by acquiring or divesting major brands and assets. This led ConAgra to sell off Butterball and Smithfield to eventually exit their joint venture.

• Private companies saw an opportunity to acquire well-known brands from major public corporations. This allowed Maxwell Farms to gain full ownership control for a period.

• Synergies between companies with different specialities. For example, Seaboard brought expertise in turkey production and processing that perfectly complemented Maxwell’s strong sales, marketing and distribution of the Butterball name.

• Financial motivations also inevitably played a role during each acquisition and divestiture.

Through all these ownership changes, the consistent high quality and name recognition of the Butterball brand has endured and prospered. Consumers can still expect to find the same delicious Butterball turkeys during the holidays for years to come.

Butterball’s Leadership and Company Structure

While ownership and parent companies have changed, Butterball maintains its own independent corporate leadership and operational structure.

Butterball LLC has its corporate headquarters located in Garner, NC along with production facilities throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Some key executives include:

• Jay Jandrain, President and CEO
• Bill Hewat, Senior Vice President of Operations
• Mark Schildwachter, VP Human Resources
• Chad Facemire, VP Food Safety and Quality Assurance

With around 5,500 employees across multiple states, Butterball operates as an autonomous subsidiary within Maxwell Foods and Seaboard Corporation’s broader portfolios. This allows continuity in day-to-day business, marketing, sales, and production as ownership changed.

As a private company, Butterball does not disclose detailed financial figures. But as one of the largest turkey producers in America, it generates estimated annual revenues over $1 billion. The company sells approximately 1 billion pounds of turkey every year across both retail and foodservice channels.

Butterball also continues to operate key marketing initiatives like its popular Turkey Talk Line which fields over 200,000 calls each holiday season. This 1-800 phone line provides cooking advice and reassurance to home cooks across America wanting to perfectly roast their Butterball turkeys.

The Outlook Going Forward

There are no signs that the current Maxwell Foods and Seaboard Corporation shared ownership of Butterball will change in the foreseeable future. The arrangement seems to provide a profitable complementary partnership between the two parent companies.

Of course, further consolidation and mergers within the food industry could always impact ownership down the road. But for now, Butterball appears positioned for continued success under its current structure during holidays for years to come.

So when you cook your Butterball turkey this next Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can feel confident knowing the same delicious, time-honored brand still graces your table. Regardless of which major corporations have traded ownership interests behind the scenes, the Butterball turkey itself remains an iconic centerpiece tradition for American holiday meals.