The Honey Baked Ham Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food retail |
| Founded | January 1, 1957 in Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Founder | Harry Hoenselaar |
| Headquarters | Alpharetta , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Linda van Rees (CEO) |
| Products | Hams, turkey breasts, pre-cooked main courses, side items, desserts |
| Owner | Hoenselaar family (private ownership) |
| Website | honeybaked |
The Honey Baked Ham Company is a specialty food retailer focused on offering hams, turkey breasts, and a variety of pre-cooked main courses, side items, and desserts. Established in 1957 in Detroit, the company’s headquarters have since moved to Alpharetta, Georgia. As of June 5, 2020, it maintains 492 locations throughout the United States.
Founding and Early Development
In 1924, Harry Hoenselaar created a spiral slicer designed to cook and smoke bone-in hams. He attributed the concept to a dream and constructed his initial model using unconventional materials such as a tire jack, pie tin, washing machine motor, and a knife.
Throughout the 1930s, Hoenselaar marketed honey-glazed hams to Detroit drugstores and instructed lunch counter employees on proper slicing techniques. He eventually acquired one of these drugstores for $500. Drawing on his invention and Detroit background, Hoenselaar launched The HoneyBaked Ham Company and Café in 1957.
Growth and Expansion
As the company grew nationwide, the United States was segmented into four regions, each overseen by one of Hoenselaar’s daughters. Today, leadership is under his granddaughter Linda van Rees, who moved the corporate headquarters to Alpharetta, Georgia in 2015.
Honey Baked Ham Company, LLC currently operates more than 200 corporate retail outlets and an equal number of franchise locations across the country, supported by an expanding online sales platform. The enterprise remains under private ownership by the Hoenselaar family.
Recognition
In October 2013, Consumer Reports awarded Honey Baked Ham the distinction of being "clearly best of the bunch." In 2019, Kim Severson of The New York Times honored Harry J. Hoenselaar as "the father of spiral-cut ham."