SPAM is flying off the shelves at Costcos across America during coronavirus outbreak

Hormel Foods Corp has a hit on its hands during coronavirus panic shopping.

This week, SPAM was listed in Costco Wholesale’s coupon book, according to several administrative employees at stores across northwest Washington, for $5 off its usual price of about $20 for a pack of eight tins. A Hormel Foods spokesperson said the promotion was planned “a few months ago, prior to the current situation.”

At more than a dozen stores in the Puget Sound region contacted by The News Tribune, all were fresh out of the canned pork and ham product.

The spread of the novel coronavirus has induced Americans to storm Costco stores, where lines 100-people deep have snaked throughout the aisles, where toilet paper runs out in minutes every morning, and where the staff seems almost too cheery for enduring the onslaught of panicked shoppers day after day.

Rice, sure. Flour, it will go bad, but SPAM? Its allure lies in its very nature: It lasts forever, even if it tastes like a salt bomb (because it is). A two-ounce serving packs 16 grams of fat, including six grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol and 790 milligrams of sodium — about a third of the recommended daily value.

That plus seven grams of protein.

The SPAM phenomenon expands beyond Washington state and into Oregon, the Southwest and the Northeast. Only the Midwest appeared to have ample stock, but one administrative employee who searched the system for The News Tribune said that was likely because they had just received their shipments.

“It comes and goes quickly,” said an employee at one of the Tacoma stores.

“What item is it?” another asked.

“Uh, SPAM.”

Laughter ensued.

“What a weird thing to be out of,” said an employee at one South Sound Costco.

These generous employees can share information about what their stores have in stock, but the automated message at the top of every call reminds customers that “due to current market conditions, we are unable to provide members with information regarding the arrival of specific items to our warehouse.”

As a nonperishable, in-demand item, SPAM would technically fall under Costco’s one-per-customer rule, as is now enforced for everything from paper towels and toilet paper to disinfectant wipes and bags of rice.

Because it’s listed in the coupon mailer, customers may buy up to four packs.

That’s a lot of SPAM.

“Usually we don’t have that issue,” one employee replied matter-of-factly.

“People figure canned meats, and the world ends, then they’ll have something to eat,” said another, who also referenced the Northwest’s Pacific Islander population.

More than 1.2 million people in the U.S. identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, more than half combined with at least one other race. That’s the highest percentage of mixed race identification, according to 2010 data from the Census Bureau. Most live in the western U.S. — 71 percent — with the second-highest density in the south at 16 percent.

The 2016 American Community Survey estimated that the Filipino population exceeds more than 4 million, with most living in California, followed by Hawaii, Texas and Washington.

On its website, SPAM boasts of its “brand craze” in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii.

Made with six ingredients — “pork with ham,” salt, sugar, potato starch, sodium nitrate and water — the blue tin was introduced in 1937, propelled by World War II. In recent years, SPAM has become somewhat of a hipster cult food, showing up on restaurant menus from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

Right now, it seems it’s blossomed into a cult favorite in homes across America no matter ethnographic background, including here in the Puget Sound.

Hormel Foods also produces nonperishable brands like Skippy peanut butter, Jenny-O turkey products, Applegate meats and of course its namesake cans of chili and microwaveable meals. In a March 17 press release, CEO Jim Snee said the company has seen “strong demand” for these brands.

“We understand the critical role we play in providing safe and high-quality food to people around the world,” he said in the release. “We have a responsibility to ensure our products are available when needed, and we are working closely with our retail and foodservice customers to provide a steady supply of all our products.”

Reached for comment about the unusually high demand for SPAM during the coronavirus pandemic, as people remain sheltered in their homes, social-distancing except when they storm Costco for more SPAM and Lysol, a Hormel spokesperson said he could not share individual product sales but could speak to the uptick by division.

“We are aware that consumers are shopping for high-quality, shelf-stable foods, and Hormel Foods has a strong portfolio of brands they can rely on,” he said.

Other packaged food giants, including General Mills, Tyson, Campbell and Kraft Heinz have enjoyed up to a 20 percent boost in sales in the four weeks leading up to March 8, Bloomberg reported over the weekend. Amid this SPAM-induced excitement, Hormel Foods said its 13,000 employees would receive a bonus of $300 for full-time workers and $150 for part-time workers, totaling $4 million. The Minnesota-based company has pledged $1 million in cash and product donations to hunger-relief organizations around the world, including Feeding America.

As one Costco employee said, “Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s just a hot commodity.”

Looks like it’s time for a Filipino breakfast of SPAM and eggs (Spamsilog), or a simple SPAM sandwich on a bun, or better yet — SPAM musubi, a Hawaiian “sushi” dish of a SPAM slice between layers of rice wrapped in seaweed.

Just be sure to skip the salt shaker.

This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 6:00 PM.