Del Monte Foods seeks bankruptcy protection as consumers turn away

Del Monte’s losses person piled up arsenic consumers take healthier oregon cheaper alternatives.

Del Monte Foods, the 139-year-old institution champion known for its canned fruits and vegetables, is filing for bankruptcy extortion arsenic consumers successful the United States progressively bypass its products for healthier oregon cheaper options.

Del Monte announced the bankruptcy filing precocious Tuesday.

Del Monte, which besides owns the Contadina herb brand, College Inn and Kitchen Basics broth brands and the Joyba bubble beverage brand, has secured $912.5m successful debtor-in-possession financing that volition let it to run usually arsenic the merchantability progresses.

The Walnut Creek, California-based marque has assets and liabilities ranging from $1bn to $10bn, according to a filing successful a New Jersey bankruptcy court.

“After a thorough valuation of each disposable options, we determined a court-supervised merchantability process is the astir effectual mode to accelerate our turnaround and make a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,” CEO Greg Longstreet said successful a statement.

The institution has seen income maturation of Joyba and broth successful the 2024 fiscal year, but not capable to offset weaker income of Del Monte’s signature canned products.

“Consumer preferences person shifted distant from preservative-laden canned nutrient successful favour of healthier alternatives,” Sarah Foss, planetary caput of ineligible and restructuring astatine Debtwire, a fiscal consultancy, told the quality bureau The Associated Press.

Grocery ostentation besides caused consumers to question retired cheaper store brands. Last month, the user terms scale study showed a 0.3 percent summation successful the terms of nutrient and 2.2 percent compared with this clip past year.

Another stroke is expected from US President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariff connected imported steel. This went into effect successful June and volition besides propulsion up the terms that Del Monte and others wage for cans.

Del Monte Foods, which is owned by Singapore’s Del Monte Pacific, was besides deed with a suit past twelvemonth by a radical of lenders that objected to the company’s indebtedness restructuring plan. The lawsuit was settled successful May with a indebtedness that accrued Del Monte’s involvement expenses by $4m annually, according to a institution statement.

Del Monte’s banal is astir adjacent from the marketplace open, and it is up 4.62 percent implicit the past 5 days.