SPAM Hot Honey Divides Fans as Hormel Taps Trending Flavor

Hormel Foods has added another flavor to SPAM's roster: Hot Honey, the brand's first permanent new variety in two years. The move arrives as the sweet-and-spicy trend—what the food industry calls "swicy"—has become one of the fastest-growing flavor categories in American grocery stores and restaurants. Hot honey sauces, chips, bacon, and condiments have proliferated across major chains and supermarket shelves over the past few years, and now the nearly 90-year-old canned meat brand is joining the wave.

The company framed the launch as a natural extension of SPAM's identity. A Hormel spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the new flavor delivers "fresh excitement" to a brand that has remained largely unchanged in its core offering since 1937. The hot honey variety aims to appeal to consumers who want sweetness and heat in a single product, balancing what the company described as competing taste preferences. SPAM Hot Honey is now rolling out to select grocery retailers nationwide, joining more than 10 existing flavors already in the brand's lineup.

To mark the introduction, Hormel partnered with Win Son Bakery, a Brooklyn and Manhattan establishment, to create two limited-time menu items available through September 20. Customers could order a breakfast sandwich and a fan tuan—a traditional Taiwanese sticky rice roll—both featuring the new SPAM variety. The partnership signals an effort to reach consumers beyond the typical canned-meat aisle, positioning the product in a culinary context that might appeal to younger or more adventurous eaters.

The reception has split SPAM's fanbase along predictable lines. On social media, some consumers expressed genuine enthusiasm. "I try every new SPAM that comes out," one Facebook user wrote, while another said they'd be willing to sample it. But the purists have made their objections clear. One commenter stated flatly that they remained loyal to the original flavor alone, suggesting that while hot honey might work fried, it wasn't worth their money. Others were blunter. "Absolutely NOT in any flavor!" one person exclaimed. On Reddit, frustration with the broader hot honey trend surfaced: "So tired of this hot honey trend everywhere," a user complained.

SPAM's cultural footprint is substantial enough to make these debates matter. Introduced in 1937, the canned meat became a wartime staple during World War II, when more than 100 million pounds were shipped to feed Allied troops. That history cemented its place in American pantries and military culture. Today, the brand has sold more than 9 billion cans globally and maintains especially strong popularity in Hawaii and parts of Asia, where it remains a dietary staple rather than a novelty. In those markets, SPAM is not a punchline or a survival food—it's a genuine ingredient with deep roots in local cuisine.

The hot honey launch tests whether SPAM can expand beyond its core audience without alienating the consumers who have kept it relevant for nearly a century. The brand's strategy appears to be one of addition rather than replacement: the original SPAM remains on shelves, and this new flavor sits alongside it. Whether that approach satisfies both the adventurous eaters Hormel is chasing and the traditionalists who see the brand's simplicity as its strength remains to be seen. The limited-time bakery partnership suggests the company is betting on novelty and cultural cachet to drive initial sales, but the real test will come when the product settles into regular retail rotation and consumers decide whether hot honey belongs in their SPAM.