Hormel is suing its archrival Johnsonville, alleging a former employee left with trade-secret recipes and market intelligence and brought them to the competitor.

“The sausage market is increasingly competitive, and improper use of confidential, proprietary and trade-secret information, or wrongful competition or solicitation, could cause a manufacturer significant competitive economic disadvantage,” the suit reads.

Hormel also accuses another former employee of trying to lure other Hormel employees to Johnsonville after he changed jobs, violating a non-solicitation agreement.

Hormel, which alleges Johnsonville did not cooperate when sent a letter outlining the “unlawful behavior” of the two former employees, is asking for the return and deletion of confidential data as well as unspecified monetary damages.

Hormel, in a statement, said it “does not typically comment on pending litigation, but we do believe that our complaint speaks for itself.” Johnsonville did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the suit.

Sausage is a big business in the U.S. Last August, the Dallas Federal Reserve’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey noted there had been modest growth in the dinner sausage category, which is usually a sign of a weakening economy. Last year, Americans spent $8.5 billion on sausages (and hot dogs, which are a form of sausage) in U.S. supermarkets, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.  

(Another fun fact: Los Angeles consumes more hot dogs than any other city, purchasing more than 27 million pounds of them in 2024.)

To celebrate the popularity of the food, Johnsonville recently announced an 80-lb., 249-link variety pack.