Hormel Foods added its first permanent SPAM flavor in two years, a hot honey variety, and the reaction from loyal fans ranges from eager to emphatic rejection.
The company unveiled SPAM Hot Honey this week at select grocery stores nationwide, calling the new canned meat a play on "one of today's fastest-growing flavor trends." Hormel also partnered with Win Son Bakery in Brooklyn and Manhattan to sell two limited-time menu items featuring the flavor, a breakfast sandwich and a fan tuan, a traditional Taiwanese sticky rice roll, through Sept. 20.
The launch marks the first permanent addition to SPAM's product lineup in two years. The brand now carries more than ten flavors. But if Hormel expected universal applause, the internet had other plans.
Facebook commenters offered a full spectrum of opinion. One wrote simply, "I'd give it a shot." Another declared brand loyalty without reservation: "I try every new SPAM that comes out."
Self-described purists pushed back. One commenter said, "I'm still a fan of just the original flavor," adding, "Sweet and Spicy may taste good fried, but I will have to pass." Another left no room for negotiation: "Absolutely NOT in any flavor!"
Over on Reddit, at least one user voiced a broader complaint about the trend powering the product. "So tired of this hot honey trend everywhere," the user wrote, a sentiment that suggests Hormel's flavor bet may land differently depending on how much sweet heat a shopper has already encountered at the grocery store.
That fatigue is not limited to SPAM. Kraft Heinz recently leaned into the same hot honey craze with new Philadelphia cream cheese flavors as the company tries to reverse sliding sales, a sign that food giants across the industry see the trend as a lifeline, whether consumers are ready for more of it or not.
SPAM has been around since 1937. During World War II, Hormel shipped more than 100 million pounds of the canned meat to feed Allied troops, embedding the product in American culture in a way few grocery items can match. The brand has sold more than nine billion cans worldwide and remains especially popular in Hawaii and parts of Asia.
Hormel framed the new flavor as proof of the brand's staying power. A company statement said SPAM Hot Honey "reflects the SPAM brand's ongoing commitment to flavor innovation." Another line pitched the product's versatility:
"Whether someone prefers sweet, spicy or savory flavor profiles, this variety delivers the best of both worlds with a balance of sweetness and heat."
The company also told Fox News Digital that the launch is about bringing "fresh excitement" to the nearly 90-year-old brand. That phrasing is telling. Heritage food brands face a constant tension between the loyal base that buys the original and the younger shoppers who want novelty.
It is the same balancing act playing out across the consumer landscape. Chili's recently bet on nostalgia with a retro redesign across more than a thousand locations, hoping familiar branding would pull customers away from fast-food rivals. The question for Hormel is whether hot honey counts as innovation or just trend-chasing.
Hormel chose Win Son Bakery, a Taiwanese-American restaurant with locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, as the launch partner. The two limited-time menu items, the breakfast sandwich and the sticky rice roll, are available through Sept. 20. A press release from Hormel outlined the partnership, though neither the price of the items nor the retail price of the canned product was disclosed.
Picking a trendy New York City bakery for the rollout fits a pattern. Big food companies increasingly use restaurant collaborations to generate social media buzz before a product hits mainstream shelves. Whether that buzz translates to sustained grocery sales is another matter.
Retailers themselves are navigating shifting consumer habits. 7-Eleven announced plans to close hundreds of stores while pivoting toward fresh food, and even Walmart has adjusted in-store strategies as shoplifting forces changes to how everyday products are displayed. The grocery aisle is a competitive place, and a new SPAM flavor needs more than a catchy name to hold shelf space.
Hormel has not disclosed which specific grocery chains are carrying SPAM Hot Honey at launch, nor has it released ingredients, nutritional details, or pricing. The company also has not said what the last permanent flavor addition was two years ago, leaving consumers to guess how the new variety fits into the broader lineup.
None of that stopped the internet from rendering a verdict before most people could find the product on a shelf. The split reaction, enthusiasm from adventurous eaters, flat rejection from traditionalists, is as old as the brand itself.
Nine billion cans sold says the original recipe works fine. Hormel is betting hot honey can add to that number without alienating the people who got them there.