Spam (stylized in all caps) is a brand of lunch meat (processed canned pork and ham) made by Hormel Foods Corporation, an American multinational food processing company. It was introduced in the United States in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. , Spam is sold in 48 countries, and trademarked in more than 100 countries, on 6 continents.
Spam's main ingredient is a mixture of pork and ham, with salt, water, modified potato starch (as a binder), sugar, and sodium nitrite (as a preservative). Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in its cans on the production line. It is available in different flavors, some using different meats, as well as in "lite" and lower-sodium versions. Spam is pre-cooked, making it safe to consume straight from the can, but it is often cooked further for taste.
Spam has become part of popular culture, including a Monty Python sketch, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being used to describe unsolicited electronic messages, especially email. It is occasionally celebrated at festivals such as Spamarama in Austin, Texas.
History
Hormel introduced Spam on July 5, 1937. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America states that the product was intended to increase the sale of pork shoulder, a cut which did not sell well. That same year, Ken Daigneau, the brother of a company executive, won a competition to name the new item and received . Hormel states that the meaning of the name "is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives", but a popular belief is that the name is a contraction of "spiced ham". It has also been speculated to be an acronym for "shoulder of pork and ham". The official website shows a backronym for sizzle, pork, and mmm.
The difficulty of delivering fresh meat to the front during World War II saw Spam become a ubiquitous part of the U.S. soldier's diet. It became variously referred to as "ham that didn't pass its physical", "meatloaf without basic training", and "special army meat". Over of Spam were received by the military before the war's end. However, several troops grew tired of the product. They expressed their frustrations in written letters to Jay Hormel, the president of the company, about the presence of Spam at every meal. Despite this disparagement, throughout the war, countries ravaged by the conflict and faced with strict food rations came to appreciate Spam.
During World War II and the occupations that followed, Spam was introduced into Guam, Hawaii, Okinawa, the Philippines, and other islands in the Pacific. Immediately absorbed into native diets, it has become a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific islands. As a consequence of World War II rationing and the Lend-Lease Act, Spam was sold in the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher later referred to it as a "wartime delicacy". In addition to increasing production for the U.K., Hormel expanded Spam output as part of Allied aid to the Soviet Union. In his memoir Khrushchev Remembers, Nikita Khrushchev declared: "Without Spam, we wouldn't have been able to feed our army."
The billionth can of Spam was sold in 1959, and the eight billionth can was sold in 2012. As of 2026, Hormel states there have been more than nine billion cans sold.
International usage United States and territories
Domestically, Spam's chief advantages were affordability, accessibility, and extended shelf life. Statistics from the 1990s say that 3.8 cans of Spam were consumed every second in the United States, totaling nearly 122 million cans annually. It became part of the diet of almost 30% of American households, perceived differently in various regions of the country. It is also sometimes associated with economic hardship because of its relatively low cost.
After World War II, Spam changed roles in the U.S. from being the main protein source to being a side dish or ingredient used in items like sandwiches and eggs.
Spam that is sold in North America, South America, and Australia is produced in Austin, Minnesota (also known as "Spam Town USA"), and in Dubuque, Iowa.Wyman, Carolyn. "Spam: A Biography". Harvest Books, 1999 Austin, Minnesota also had a restaurant with a menu devoted exclusively to Spam called "Johnny's SPAMarama Menu". At the National Restaurant Association's 107th annual Colorado trade show in 2026, Hormel unveiled the Spam Dog, a hot dog made out of Spam.
Hawaii
Residents of the state of Hawaii have the highest per capita consumption in the United States, bringing in sales of 7 million cans of Spam per year. Its perception there is very different from that on the mainland. Hawaiians sometimes call it "Portagee Steak".
A local dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is placed on top of rice and wrapped in a band of nori, a form of onigiri or riceball. Varieties of Spam are found in Hawaii and Saipan that are unavailable in other markets, such as Spam with Portuguese Sausage Seasoning.
Hawaiian Burger King restaurants began serving Spam in 2007 to compete with the local McDonald's chains, which also serve Spam. In Hawaii, Spam is so popular that it is sometimes referred to as "The Hawaiian Steak". There is even an annual Spam-themed festival on the island of Oahu each spring, known as the "Waikiki Spam Jam". Local chefs and restaurants compete to create new Spam-themed dishes, which are then sold in a massive street fair on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki.
In 2017, Hawaii was plagued by a rash of thefts of Spam. Spam had long been a target of thieves in Hawaii, but the magnitude of the thefts ramped up, with incidents in which multiple cases of Spam were stolen at once. Local retailers believe organized crime was involved. This came alongside increases in thefts of some other retail goods, such as corned beef and liquor. The president of the retail merchants of Hawaii attributed the rise in retail thefts to a recent change in criminal law, which raised the threshold at which a theft would lead to felony charges by approximately $400.
Guam and the Northern Marianas In Guam, the average per capita consumption is 16 cans per year. It is also found on McDonald's menus there. The Spam Games also occur in Guam, where locals sample and honor the best original, homemade Spam recipes.
In the Northern Mariana Islands, lawyers from Hormel have threatened to sue the local press for publishing articles alleging ill effects of high Spam consumption on the health of the local population.
Puerto Rico The Sandwich de Mezcla is a sandwich that originates from Puerto Rico. It is made of Spam, Velveeta, and a spread made of pimientos between two slices of sandwich bread.
Europe United Kingdom After World War II, Newforge Foods, part of the Fitch Lovell group, was given the license to produce the product in the U.K. at its Belle Vale factory, Liverpool, where it stayed until production switched to the Danish Crown Group (owners of the Tulip Food Company) in 1998.
The United Kingdom has adapted Spam into various recipes, for example, sliced, battered and deep-fried into Spam fritters.
Asia Philippines
In the Philippines, Spam is currently distributed by the Purefoods-Hormel Company Inc.. There, it is a popular food item seen as a cultural symbol. Spam reached the islands similarly as it did other former US colonies such as Hawaii and Guam: as a result of World War II rationing. Spam is commonly eaten with rice (usually garlic fried rice) and a sunny-side-up egg for breakfast. It is prepared and used in a variety of ways, including being fried, caramelized, served with condiments, or in sandwiches. It has also been featured in numerous Filipino fusion cuisine dishes, including Spam burgers, Spam spaghetti, and Spam nuggets.
The popularity of Spam in the Philippines transcends economic class, and the canned product is even given during holidays. There are at least ten different varieties of Spam currently available in the country, and an estimated 1.25 million kilos of the meat is sold every year in the Philippines. Its popularity among Filipinos has led to the creation of a version with sugar and annatto—Spam with tocino seasoning, made for the overseas Filipino market in the US and Canada. During the rescue efforts after Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) in 2009, Hormel Foods donated over 30,000 pounds of Spam to the Philippine National Red Cross. A chicken-based version is also available exclusively in the Philippines.
China In mainland China, Hormel decided to adopt a different strategy to market Spam (), promoting it as a foreign, premium food product and changing the Spam formula to be meatier to accommodate local Chinese tastes. Spam-like canned pork products are also produced by other food companies in China as "luncheon meat" ().
Hong Kong After World War II, meat was scarce and expensive in Hong Kong, so Spam was an accessible, affordable alternative. The luncheon meat has been incorporated into dishes such as macaroni with fried egg and Spam in chicken soup, egg and Spam sandwiches, and instant ramen. As of today, Spam is common among low to middle-income families in Hong Kong.
South Korea Spam was exported to Korea post-World War II, whose population was on the brink of starvation. Spam returned to South Korea and was widely consumed during the Korean War. US soldiers deployed to South Korea used Spam as a means of trading for items, services, or information around their bases. Spam and other meats were smuggled out of US military installations for the local population. Its popularity led to the creation of the Spam kimbap (rice and vegetable filled seaweed roll) in Korean cuisine. Because of a scarcity of fish and other traditional kimbap products such as kimchi or fermented cabbage, Spam was added to a rice roll with kimchi and cucumber and wrapped in seaweed. Spam is also an original ingredient in budae jjigae (; ), a spicy stew with different types of preserved meat or kimchi.
In South Korea, Spam, under license from Hormel by CJ CheilJedang, is popular with a majority of the population. , South Korea produced and consumed more Spam than any other country except the United States.> It is considered something of a luxury dish and is a common gift for Korean New Year combined with cooking oil and seasoning.
Japan In Okinawa, Japan, the product is added into onigiri alongside eggs and used as a staple ingredient in the traditional Okinawan dish chanpurū, and a Spam burger is sold by local fast food chain Jef. For the 70th anniversary of Spam in 2007, cans with special designs were sold in Japan due to its popularity, primarily in Okinawa. Spam sales in Japan declined after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and Hormel shifted its focus to China, although it pledged to donate $100,000 along with cans of Spam for relief efforts.
In the summer of 2011, Burger King introduced its own version of a burger made of Spam, called 'BK Shot' Spam Burgers. These small burgers are filled with slices of the canned meat and were an attempt by Burger King to capitalize on Spam's popularity in Japan. In early 2014, Burger King also introduced the Spam and Cheese burger as a breakfast menu item.
In popular culture
From 1940 to 1941, Spam sponsored George Burns and Gracie Allen on their radio program.
During World War II, Spam was not only eaten but was also incorporated into many other aspects of the war (grease for guns, cans for scrap metal, etc.); it was so prominent that Uncle Sam was nicknamed "Uncle Spam". Other terms influenced by the product's name include the European invasion fleet or the "Spam Fleet". Furthermore, the United Service Organizations (USO) toured the "Spam Circuit". In 1943, comedian Suzette Tarri appeared as the harassed waitress character "Mrs. Spam" in the British film Somewhere in Civvies.