Articles by Andy Hanacek

In January 2016, a jackpot of historic proportions grabbed the attention of the nation — those who purchased Powerball tickets hoped the record $1.58 billion prize would land in their laps and change their fortunes.

It has been a busy couple of years, but the gamble that Butterball LLC has taken to modify its operational approach appears to have paid off, spurred along by several headline-making acquisitions in recent years.

In mid-November, Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief, visited Raeford, N.C., in order to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and get an exclusive tour of the new Butterball further-processing plant there (which was also still under construction at presstime).

In recent years, Hormel Foods has been on the prowl, busy acquiring companies and products as the economic headwinds have eased and sparked growth in the M&A space.

When a sports celebrity’s playing days are over, it doesn’t mean the competitive fire or drive for success in that athlete subsides — many search for outlets for that burning desire to win.

In the meat industry, one might consider Wayne Marcho, founder of Marcho Farms, to be a trailblazer, as he has had a long history of investment into doing “what’s right” by the company and its consumers — the most recent evidence occurring when its continuous-improvement efforts were turned toward its already-strong food-safety record.

Early this summer, Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief of The National Provisioner checked in with Chef Christopher Hansen, corporate executive chef at OSI Group, to get his thoughts on some of the trends driving meat and poultry culinary strategies, and how his company was responding to some of these big-picture targets.

Land O’Frost recently unveiled its new headquarters to The National Provisioner in an exclusive tour in July.

It wasn’t long ago that the demand for organic food crossed over from fad to trend.

When John Simons began his stint as president and CEO of AdvancePierre Foods on Sept. 30, 2013, he saw the potential of the company he’d just been tapped to lead, as well as the challenges that lay ahead of the management team he began to assemble.