GoodMark Foods
American food manufacturer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
GoodMark Foods was an American food manufacturing company, based in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1][2] It produced "meat snacks, packaged meats, and extruded grain snacks,"[2] especially Slim Jim jerky meat snacks.[3] It is owned by ConAgra.[2]
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food industry |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Defunct | June 18, 1998 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | ConAgra |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Meat snacks, packaged meats, and extruded grain snacks |
Number of employees | 1,100 |
| Parent | ConAgra |
| Website | www |
Company history
Slim Jim snacks originated in Philadelphia.[4] Its manufacturer Cherry-Levis Food Company was sold to General Mills in 1967 for about $20 million[4] and renamed Slim Jim, Inc.[5] In 1970, General Mills purchased Jesse Jones Sausage Co. in Garner, North Carolina, and formed GoodMark Foods, Inc. to make Slim Jims there.[5]
Ron Doggett, a General Mills finance executive involved in the purchase of Cherry-Levis, moved to North Carolina to participate in managing the operations. "In June 1982, he directed a unique leveraged buyout with three other executives of GoodMark from General Mills, who had put the subsidiary up for sale."[3] They made the company public in 1985.[6] The company's stock was traded on NASDAQ as GDMK.[1]
It was acquired by ConAgra, Inc. in 1998[2] for $225 million.[6] GoodMark's annual sales were about $170 million at that time.[1] A year later, in 1999, Doggett retired as chairman, president and CEO.[3][5]
