About McCormick & Company

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry–retailers, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. The company also partners in a number of joint ventures that are involved in the manufacture and sale of flavorful products, the most significant of which is McCormick de Mexico. The company’s major sales, distribution and production facilities are located in North America, Europe and China. Additional facilities are based in Australia, Central America, Thailand and South Africa. Business Segments The company operates in two business segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. Demand for flavor is growing globally, and across both segments the company has the customer base and product breadth to participate in all types of eating occasions. The company’s products deliver flavor when cooking at home, dining out, purchasing a quick service meal or enjoying a snack. The company offers its customers and consumers a range of products, extending from premium to value-priced, to meet the increasing demand for certain product attributes, such as clean-label, organic, natural, reduced sodium, gluten-free and non-GMO (genetically modified organisms). Consumer From locations around the world, this segment’s brands reach consumers in approximately 170 countries and territories. The company’s leading brands in the Americas include McCormick, French’s, Frank’s RedHot, Lawry’s Cholula Hot Sauce and Club House, as well as brands, such as Gourmet Garden and OLD BAY. The company also markets authentic regional and ethnic brands, such as Zatarain’s, Stubb's, Thai Kitchen and Simply Asia. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the company’s major brands include the Ducros, Schwartz, Kamis and La Drogheria brands of spices, herbs and seasonings and an extensive line of Vahine brand dessert items. In the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region, the company markets its products under the McCormick and DaQiao brands. In China, the company markets its spices and seasonings under the McCormick brand, its dessert products under the Aeroplane brand, and packaged chilled herbs under the Gourmet Garden brand. In Australia and elsewhere in the APAC region, the company markets its products under the McCormick brand as well as other brands. Approximately two thirds of the company’s consumer segment sales are spices and seasonings and condiments and sauces. Within the spices and seasoning category, the company is the brand leader globally and a category leader in its key markets. In the condiments and sauces category, it is one of the brand leader globally and in the U.S. The company’s customers span a variety of retailers that include grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, and e-commerce retailers, served directly and indirectly through distributors or wholesalers. In addition to marketing its branded products to these customers, the company is a leading supplier of private label items, also known as store brands. In its businesses in China and, prior to 2022, India, foodservice sales are managed by and reported in the company’s consumer segment. Flavor Solutions In its Flavor Solutions segment, the company provides a wide range of products to multinational food manufacturers and foodservice customers. The foodservice customers are supplied with branded, packaged products both directly by the company and indirectly through distributors, with the exception of its businesses in China. The company supplies food manufacturers and foodservice customers with customized flavor solutions, and many of these customer relationships have been active for decades. The company’s range of flavor solutions remains one of the broadest in the industry and includes seasoning blends, spices and herbs, condiments, coating systems and compound flavors. In addition to a broad range of flavor solutions, the company’s long-standing customer relationships are evidence of its effectiveness in building customer intimacy. The company’s customers benefit from its expertise in many areas, including sensory testing, culinary research, food safety and flavor application. Customers The company’s products are sold directly to customers and also through brokers, wholesalers and distributors. In the consumer segment, products are then sold to consumers under a number of brands through a variety of retail channels, including grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, and e-commerce. In the flavor solutions segment, products are used by food and beverage manufacturers as ingredients for their finished goods and by foodservice customers as ingredients for menu items, as well as provided to their own customers for use in dine-in and take-out eating occasions, all to enhance the flavor of their foods. Customers for the flavor solutions segment include food manufacturers and the foodservice industry supplied through a variety of channels including directly and indirectly through distributors, wholesale foodservice suppliers and e-commerce. The company has a large number of customers for its products. Sales to one of the company’s consumer segment customers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., accounted for approximately 12% of consolidated sales in 2023. Sales to one of the company’s flavor solutions segment customers, PepsiCo, Inc., accounted for approximately 13% of consolidated sales in 2023. In 2023, the top three customers in the company’s flavor solutions segment represented between 47% of its global flavor solutions sales. Trademarks, Licenses and Patents The company owns a number of trademark registrations. Although in the aggregate these trademarks are material to its business, the loss of any one of those trademarks, with the exception of the company’s McCormick, French’s, Frank’s RedHot, Lawry’s, Zatarain’s, Cholula, Stubb's, Club House, Ducros, Schwartz, Vahine, OLD BAY, Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen, Kamis, La Drogheria, DaQiao, and Gourmet Garden trademarks. The Mc – McCormick trademark is extensively used by the company in connection with the sale of its food products in the U.S. and certain non-U.S. markets. The company also owns various patents, none of which are individually material to its business. Research and Development The company’s research and development expenses included $94.9 million for the year ended November 30, 2023. Seasonality Due to seasonal factors inherent in its business, the company’s sales, income and cash from operations generally are higher in the fourth quarter (year ended November 30, 2023) due to the holiday season. This seasonality reflects customer and consumer buying patterns, primarily in the consumer segment. Governmental Regulation In the United States, the safety, production, transportation, distribution, advertising, labeling and sale of many of the company’s products and their ingredients are subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Food Safety Modernization Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; state consumer protection laws; competition laws, anti-corruption laws, customs and trade laws; federal, state and local workplace health and safety laws; privacy laws; various federal, state and local environmental protection laws; and various other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. History McCormick & Company, Incorporated was founded in 1889. The company was incorporated in 1915.