About Lawrence Kurzius
McCormick Executive Chairman Lawrence Kurzius has said that the company's pricing for the fiscal year is largely in place, describing the discussion around price as "overblown" and stating that McCormick spices cost "pennies a serving." He attributed the company's first-quarter results to "solid growth" across its consumer and flavored solutions segments and said the results gave management confidence in its full-year outlook. Kurzius also stated that "one of the first things to go" for consumers is "expensive dining out," and that the company tends to perform well in various economic conditions.
Kurzius has repeatedly described a "long-term trend" of cooking at home, particularly among millennials and Gen Z, which he said was accelerated by the pandemic but predated it. He noted that the company has seen "sustained consumer demand" and gained market share, citing a 16% increase in household penetration and an 11% increase in usage rate. Regarding the Cholula hot sauce brand, acquired by McCormick, Kurzius said the company expanded its distribution and propelled it to the number two position in the U.S. hot sauce category, adding over a million households.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Lawrence Kurzius's recent appearances.
Browse all interviews →
Transcript (5 segments)
J
Jim Cramer0:10
What happens when McCormick gets a hold of a brand?
L
Lawrence Kurzius0:12
Well, you know, Jim, first of all, again, thank you for having me on. We did just record a terrific quarter. Consumer demand for flavor is just so strong. Our acquisition of Cholula hot sauce and we also bought Filling the Flavors last year really made fantastic additions to our portfolio. With Cholula, we have expanded distribution, we've gotten it shelved better. We have propelled Cholula's growth. It was already a strong brand, but we have propelled it to the number two position in the hot sauce category in the U.S. Cholula and Frank's are like brother and sister in the hot sauce category now. Frank's added over a million households using Cholula in the last year, so really great progress on that brand. One of the things that people had told me was, look, when we get the reopening, people are going to go back, they're not going to be cooking, they'll go back to going to restaurants. And I always say, listen, we'll get them in restaurants and get them at home. But what I am surprised about is the robust nature of people cooking at home even after they're allowed to go out. Something's really going on here.
J
Jim Cramer1:39
Lawrence, it's very different from the way it's been in a long time.
L
Lawrence Kurzius1:44
You know, too much has been attributed to the pandemic. There has been a long-term trend towards cooking at home, cooking from scratch at home, cooking more healthily at home, really among young consumers for a long time. It's a long-term trend that we see globally. The pandemic accelerated it, but it was a trend already before the pandemic. It's been a trend through the pandemic, and we believe it's continuing for the long term.
J
Jim Cramer2:29
Don't miss a second of Mad Money. Follow @JimCramer on Twitter. Have a question? Tweet #MadTweets. Send Jim an email to
[email protected] or give us a call at 1-800-743-CNBC. Miss something? Head to madmoney.cnbc.com.
