The Tomato Experts - Cultivating Goodness

It's been more than 100 years since Joseph and William Hunt founded the Hunt Brothers Packing Company in Santa Rosa, California. Since then, Hunt's has grown to become one of the most knowledgeable tomato growers in the world. We have gained an unprecedented knowledge of tomato related products and their uses. From locating the perfect fields, hand selecting the best fruit, or being the only manufacturer to use the FreshSteam™ process on every tomato, everything we do is to ensure the freshest possible tomatoes.

Our standards ensure consistent flavor and superior quality and we are committed to providing great– tasting products that enrich your family's meals. Our rich history, extensive tomato knowledge and unparalleled dedication to quality set us apart, and allow us to fulfill the Hunt's Promise.

A Tradition of Quality

As boys growing up in California's fertile Santa Rosa Valley, Joseph and William Hunt learned firsthand how to preserve the quality and fresh taste of a variety of local fruits and vegetables by helping their mother can each season's crop. Following their mother's death in 1888, Joe and Will tapped their knowledge to open a small canning business on their father's ranch. Soon, the brothers found their ambitions had outgrown their facilities.

In April 1890, the operation moved into a larger building in Santa Rosa, California, incorporating as Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company. Their first pack that year was 30,000 cases, which they delivered in horse–drawn carriages. As the brothers' reputation for providing the highest quality products began to spread, the operation outgrew the Santa Rosa facility, and a new plant was constructed in the Hayward, California area.

In 1943, a young entrepreneur and brilliant marketer named Norton Simon merged his own canning company—Val Vita Food Products—in Fullerton, California with Hunt Brothers Packing Company to form a new company known as Hunt Foods, Inc. Simon chose to retain the Hunt's name because of its history of superior quality.

In 1946, Simon decided that tomato sauce would become the flagship product for an innovative advertising campaign. The company focused on promoting tomato sauce and the familiar red can with full-page color ads with recipes in major women's magazines. Simon not only educated American homemakers about the great taste of tomato sauce, but through recipes, also gave them numerous ways to use it. By the late 1940's, as a result of this classic marketing strategy, new product introductions, and mergers and acquisitions, the national market began to open for many more Hunt's products, including Whole and Diced varieties, Spaghetti Sauce, and Barbecue Sauce.

Today, Hunt's is a proud member of the ConAgra Foods family. We've sold millions of juicy, red California tomatoes since that first packing season in 1890, all the while, remaining true to the Hunt brothers' original mission: a dedication to providing consumers with the highest quality tomato products.

Picked at the Peak of Ripeness

We've learned a lot about tomatoes in the past century— how to grow them, pick them and seal in their "fresh from the vine" flavor. We make sure that when you reach for our familiar red can, you're reaching for a product of superior quality and the true tomato flavor that makes your meals come alive.

We have been doing business with generations of family farmers that are also committed to bringing you the best tomatoes. Each year, our farmers grow 55 different tomato varieties and our tomato experts choose the ideal varieties based upon criteria such as sweetness, texture and flavor profile to make each specific product. We wait until our tomatoes are perfectly red, juicy and full of flavor, then we quickly pick them at the peak of ripeness. We hand select only the best for our products, ensuring each one meets the standard for Hunt's quality.

It's amazing that our tomatoes move from vine to can in a matter of hours to make our signature Diced, Whole, Stewed and Crushed tomato products.

FlashSteam™ Process

Only Hunt's uses a natural steam process to prepare and pack, that avoids the harsh chemicals that many of our competitors use, to give you the most natural tomatoes possible. Hunt's is the undisputed leader in tomatoes and we are continuing to go the extra mile to bring you the best and most consistent quality possible. Try the fresh tomato taste of Hunt's in your favorite recipe today!