What Planters does

Planters is a 119-year-old American snack food brand specializing in nut-based products, currently a wholly owned brand of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) following Hormel's 2021 acquisition of the brand from Kraft Heinz. The company was founded in 1906 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and is recognized globally through the MR. PEANUT mascot character (created 1916) and the 26-foot NUTmobile touring vehicle (operating since 1936). Planters' core business is the manufacture and sale of branded nut and snack products — peanuts, cashews, mixed nuts, trail mixes, pistachios, almonds, pecans, and sunflower kernels — distributed primarily through major U.S. grocery, mass, and e-commerce channels. The brand holds the No. 1 selling snack nuts position in U.S. multi-outlet retail per Circana (52 weeks ending January 2024).

The product portfolio spans everyday core SKUs (Dry Roasted Peanuts, Salted Cocktail Peanuts, Deluxe Mixed Nuts, Deluxe Lightly Salted Whole Cashews) and a continuous innovation pipeline including the Nut Duos dual-flavor platform launched April 2024, the Special Reserve premium Virginia peanut line re-introduced September 2024, and rotating seasonal flavors (Apple Cider Donut, Pumpkin Spice, Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, Butter Cinnamon Pecans). Brand collaborations include the May 2025 PLANTERS x Miller High Life Bar Nut Mix with Molson Coors. Pricing is unit-based across SKUs ranging from approximately $3.49 (trail mix) to $19.06 (Special Reserve collector edition). Sub-brands include NUT-RITION, Special Reserve, and Nut Duos. The business model is horizontal consumer packaged goods with a primary general-consumer snacker segment, supplemented by holiday/seasonal shoppers and premium connoisseur buyers.

Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer e-commerce (planters.com, plantersnutmobile.com), major retail distribution (Walmart, grocery banners, Amazon), experiential marketing through the NUTmobile and 'Peanutters' brand ambassador program operating across 46 U.S. states, and high-profile entertainment partnerships including the March 2025 integration into Netflix's 'The Electric State' film. The brand operates under the Hormel Foods, LLC legal entity with headquarters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (origin) and governance from Hormel in Austin, Minnesota. Brand-level revenue is not publicly disclosed separately by Hormel, but the parent's approximate $12 billion in annual revenue (across 80+ countries and 30+ brands including SPAM, SKIPPY, and JENNIE-O) provides scale context.

Name

Planters

Legal name

Hormel Foods, LLC

Website

https://planters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1906

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Planters is a 119-year-old American snack food brand producing nut-based products including peanuts, cashews, trail mixes, and seasonal specialty nuts. Owned by Hormel Foods since 2021, it operates as the No. 1 selling snack nuts brand in U.S. retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Packaged Snack Nuts

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Nuts, Seeds & Trail Mix Snacks (CRADABAF)

Keywords

• Packaged nut snacks
• Roasted peanuts
• Flavored cashews
• Trail mix products
• Consumer snack foods

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: Sale of branded nut products including peanuts, cashews, almonds, mixed nuts, and trail mixes through retail and e-commerce channels. Revenue generated from one-time purchase transactions at various price points.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Planters produces and sells branded nut-based packaged snack foods including salted and flavored peanuts, whole and flavored cashews, mixed nuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans, sunflower kernels, and trail mixes. Products are distributed through grocery and mass retail (including Walmart-exclusive launches), Amazon, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce, with the brand's iconic MR. PEANUT mascot and NUTmobile touring program driving consumer engagement.

Product overview

PLANTERS is a consumer snack food brand owned by Hormel Foods Corporation, founded in 1906, offering a diverse portfolio of nut and snack products. The core product lines include Peanuts (salted, dry roasted, cocktail varieties), Cashews (with numerous flavored varieties including Rosemary & Sea Salt, Cinnamon Brown Sugar, Dill Pickle, Salt & Vinegar, Garlic Chili Crisp, Apple Cider Donut, and Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate), Mixed Nuts (both regular with peanuts and deluxe peanut-free varieties), Trail Mixes (Nuts & Chocolate, White Chocolate Macadamia, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Crunch, Tropical Fruit & Nut), Pistachios (dry roasted and Spicy Cajun), Almonds (Pumpkin Spice seasonal), Pecans (Butter Cinnamon seasonal), and Sunflower Kernels. Premium offerings include Special Reserve Peanuts grown in Virginia. The brand features sub-brand Nut Duos (dual-flavor nut combinations) and collaborates with Miller High Life on limited-edition Bar Nut Mix. The iconic MR. PEANUT character and NUTmobile vehicle serve as brand mascots, with annual Peanutter ambassadors driving the NUTmobile across the country.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NUT-RITION®: A product line of PLANTERS® nuts focused on nutritional goals, containing only nuts without additional mix-ins.
• Special Reserve
• MR. PEANUT®
• PLANTERS® NUTmobile
• PLANTERS® Nut Duos

Products and services

• PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts Classic dry roasted peanuts with salt — a staple snack product known for timeless crunch and satisfying taste, sold to general consumers through grocery, mass retail, and e-commerce.
• PLANTERS Cashews Premium cashews available in multiple varieties including whole lightly salted and flavored options such as Rosemary & Sea Salt, Cinnamon Brown Sugar, Dill Pickle, Salt & Vinegar, Garlic Chili Crisp, Apple Cider Donut, and Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate.
• PLANTERS Mixed Nuts Nut blends combining peanuts, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, and pistachios in various combinations, including regular and deluxe (peanut-free) varieties.
• PLANTERS Trail Mix Nut-forward snack mixes combining nuts with chocolate candies, dried fruits, pretzels, crackers, and cereal. Varieties include White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Crunch, Nuts & Chocolate, and Tropical Fruit & Nut.
• PLANTERS Pistachios Premium pistachios available as dry roasted and salted or in deluxe flavored varieties like Spicy Cajun Pistachio Kernels.
• PLANTERS Nut Duos Sub-brand product line featuring two complementary nut types with two flavors per bag in resealable packaging. Varieties include Buffalo Cashews & Ranch Almonds, Cocoa Cashews & Espresso Hazelnuts, Parmesan Cheese Cashews & Peppercorn Pistachios, and Salted Caramel Almonds & Vanilla Bean Cashews. MSRP $4.79 for 5-ounce bags.
• PLANTERS Special Reserve Peanuts

Quantifiable outcome

• No. 1 selling snack nuts brand in the U.S. market
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Miller High Life (Molson Coors)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 May 2025Multi-year partnership celebrating life's simple pleasures with co-branded products. Includes limited-edition PLANTERS x Miller High Life Bar Nut Mix combining seasoned peanuts, almonds, Cajun-style corn sticks, pretzels, rice crackers, and garlic bread sticks. Past collaborations include co-branded merchandise collection, NUTmobile transformed into a reservation-only dive bar, and the 'Ultimate Dive Bar Wedding' featuring MR. PEANUT.
• NetflixflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2025MR. PEANUT® and the NUTmobile featured as characters in Netflix's 'The Electric State' sci-fi film directed by the Russo Brothers' AGBO studio. MR. PEANUT voiced by Woody Harrelson. Planters worked with Netflix to create custom exclusive TV spots. The film is part of Netflix and AGBO's ongoing partnership.
• AGBO (Russo Brothers Studio)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2025Film production studio founded by Anthony and Joe Russo. The studio has delivered 14 global #1 openings and over $7 billion in box office. MR. PEANUT® and NUTmobile featured in 'The Electric State' film adaptation.
• Molson Coors Beverage CompanyflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerParent company of Miller High Life partnership. Collaboration included retail displays, limited-edition packaging with QR codes for sweepstakes, and co-branded merchandise collection with shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and barware.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Blue Diamond Growers: Blue Diamond Growers is the world's largest tree nut processing cooperative and directly competes with Planters across almonds, snack nuts, and nut-based snacks via Almond Breeze, wasabi almonds, and flavored nut lines sold in the same grocery and mass channels.
• Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds (Wonderful Company): The Wonderful Company sells branded pistachios, almonds, and nut snack products that directly compete with Planters' pistachio, almond, and mixed-nut SKUs across grocery, mass, and club retailers in the U.S.
• Kar's Nuts: Kar's Nuts is a U.S. trail mix and nut snack brand producing mixed nuts, trail mixes, and snack packs that compete head-to-head with Planters' trail mix and nut mix SKUs at grocery, club, and convenience channels.
• Emerald Nuts (Snack Factory/Sun-Maid): Emerald is a 100-calorie-pack, snack-nut, and trail-mix brand that competes directly with Planters' portion-control and nut snack offerings across grocery and mass channels in the U.S.
• Sahale Snacks (J.M. Smucker): Sahale Snacks is a premium nut and trail mix brand owned by J.M. Smucker competing with Planters' premium Nut Duos, flavored cashews, and Special Reserve line in the natural and grocery channel.
• Fisher Nuts (John B. Sanfilippo & Son): Fisher Nuts is a shelf-stable nut brand (peanuts, almonds, mixed nuts, pecans) competing with Planters' core nut categories at grocery and mass retailers.
• Nut Harvest (nabs/Conagra): Nut Harvest and the wider Conagra snack-nut portfolio (planter-equivalent nuts, snacking mixes) compete with Planters' salted nut and trail mix SKUs in mass and grocery channels.

Broad incumbents

• Skippy (Hormel Foods): Skippy is a peanut butter brand also owned by Hormel Foods and a sister brand of Planters within the Hormel snack portfolio; comparable because both target the same peanut-centric consumer occasions under shared corporate ownership.
• Frito-Lay (PepsiCo): Frito-Lay is PepsiCo's massive snack-food division that competes with Planters for salty-snack occasions, shelf space, and shopper mindshare at convenience, mass, and grocery channels despite its broader portfolio of chips and pretzels.

Emerging players

• Off the Eaten Path (PepsiCo): Off the Eaten Path is a PepsiCo-owned better-for-you legume- and vegetable-based snack brand competing with Planters' trail mix and nut snack portfolio among health-minded consumers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mrpeanut
• Facebookfacebook.com/mrpeanut
• Instagraminstagram.com/mrpeanutofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planters-peanuts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Planters