The decision to buy Heinz' tuna business is paying off for Del Monte Foods Co., which said Monday a new line of tuna products it rolled out over the summer has yielded a big sales catch.
Del Monte, which is based in San Francisco, introduced its StarKist Tuna Creations line of marinated tunas in July, after acquiring StarKist and several other product lines worth about $2 billion from Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. last December.
By the end of August, Tuna Creations had sold more than 3 million pouches, according to Don Binotto, managing director of StarKist at Del Monte. That result beat the company's forecasts by 37 percent.
Citing data from AC Nielsen, Del Monte said the Tuna Creations products had netted more than 4 percent, in dollar terms, of the tuna category in 15 major markets. Del Monte didn't provide a dollar figure for Tuna Creations sales, but Dow Jones reported the number at more than $15 million.
The Tuna Creations line "is exploding in the tuna category," Binotto said, adding that "we believe it will infuse even more exciting growth into this business."