Bringing You Delicious Canned Meat Since 1937: The History of the SPAM Brand

Jay C. Hormel, son of George Hormel, had an inventive mind. He’d been working on a consumer-branded canned ham since 1926. After a decade the cooking and packaging technology aligned. And during a 1937 New Years Eve party, the name SPAM was coined and the brand was born.

Launched as 'The Meat of Many Uses,' SPAM products was quickly adopted by American housewives. By 1940 70% of urban Americans were eating SPAM products. But it was the arrival of WWII, and the need for easily- transported protein, that fueled the SPAM brand’s incredible growth. By 1959 over one billion cans had been sold.