McCormick & Company was founded in 1889 by Willoughby M. McCormick in Baltimore, where he sold root beer extract, flavorings and fruit syrups before moving into spices. The company rebuilt after the 1904 Great Baltimore Fire and grew into one of the largest spice and seasoning companies in the world, headquartered today in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
Two segments
McCormick reports a Consumer segment, which sells branded spices, seasonings, condiments and hot sauces through retailers, and a Flavor Solutions segment, which develops custom seasonings and flavors for food manufacturers and restaurant chains. In FY2024 Consumer was about 57% of sales and Flavor Solutions about 43%. FY2025 net sales reached $6.84 billion with net income of $789.4 million.
Growth through acquisitions
McCormick has expanded largely through deals: Lawry's (2008, about $605 million), Reckitt Benckiser's food business with French's and Frank's RedHot (2017, about $4.2 billion), Cholula (2020, about $800 million) and FONA (2020, about $710 million). In January 2026 it paid $750 million to take a 75% stake in McCormick de Mexico.
The Unilever Foods combination
In March 2026 McCormick agreed to combine with Unilever Foods, creating a flavor-focused company with about $20 billion of combined FY2025 revenue. Unilever would receive $15.7 billion in cash, and Unilever and its shareholders would own 65% of the combined company, which would keep the McCormick name and NYSE listing. Closing is targeted around mid-2027.
