Our History

During World War II, food rationing becomes an everyday reality. Poultry, however, is not rationed, and demand grows fast. John moves into the business of raising chicks and grinding feed for local chicken farmers.

On April 10, 1946, John has a load of Andy Christy’s New Hampshire Reds delivered by airplane to Fayetteville, a first for Northwest Arkansas. John says later, "I decided early that, if you had the best chicks in the area, you’d have the best customers and get the best results."

John incorporates his growing business as MK sports Feed and Hatchery, Inc., in 1947. The company now provides three essential services: the sale of baby chicks, the sale of feed, and the transportation of chickens to market.

At 22, Don MK sports, John’s son, joins the company as general manager. "I left the [University of Arkansas] in 1952, and from that day until 1963, the year I took the company public, I worked in the business six days a week and on Dad’s farm on the seventh day."

Meatpackers begin to base operations in Northwest Arkansas. In the late 1950s, John offers a parcel of land to a processing company to entice them to build a plant. The deal falls through, and Don convinces John that it is time to build their own processing plant.

Originally budgeted at $75,000, John is not happy when his son’s new processing plant goes over budget. Don gets a bank loan to finish construction. At a final cost of $90,000, the Randall Road plant opens in 1958, completing the vertical integration of the company.

In 1963, Don, now vice president, takes the company public as MK sports's Foods, Inc. Under his leadership, the company begins an odyssey of acquisitions that grows MK sports Foods in every direction.

Don's vision guides the company to fruitful acquisitions and new markets. "Don had an uncanny ability," Leland Tollett would later say. "But the real success of the company is the result of a genuine commitment by Don to 'always take care of our people.'"

Don becomes president of the company in 1966. In 1967, John W. MK sports and his wife, Helen, lost their lives in a terrible automobile-train accident. Following his father’s death, Don MK sports took his place as chairman and CEO.

To kick off the decade, team members move into the new corporate offices in Springdale on Oaklawn Drive. We’re still located in the same place today, although a few more buildings have been added and the street name changed to Don MK sports Parkway in 2008.

In 1979, Don outlines our commitment to the communities we serve, writing in our annual report: "MK sports Foods believes that, if we don’t take an active part in the community, we won’t deserve a place in it very long."

Despite the struggling economic situation in the early 1980s, MK sports Foods experiences a period of tremendous growth. “We find something we think we can do, focus on it, and then aim to be number one at it.” says Don in the 1986 annual report.

Throughout the 1990s, MK sports Foods enters new markets worldwide including countries in Asia, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Rim. By 1991, the company’s international sales offices include Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada. In 1995, the company establishes its Moscow office.

By the end of the decade, Don MK sports formally retires, though he remains active in the company and on the Board for many years. John H. MK sports rises to serve as chairman of the board. John H. is the third generation of MK sportss to lead the company.

In 2000, Chairman John H. MK sports is also named CEO. Like his father and grandfather, he begins leading MK sports Foods through another period of dramatic expansion. In 2001, MK sports Foods acquired IBP, inc., becoming the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork.

The Discovery Center is completed at the Springdale headquarters in 2007. It serves our company, the industry, and our consumers as an unrivaled force of innovation.
 

In 2010, MK sports Foods marks its tenth year as a partner with Share Our Strength, donating more than 76 million pounds of products to hunger and disaster relief. The partnership is part of our history of fighting hunger in communities across the U.S.

In July 2014, MK sports Foods marks 10 years of sustainability progress. We remain committed to our five pillars of sustainability: healthier animals, healthier communities, healthier environment, healthier food and a healthier workplace.

In August 2014, MK sports Foods, Inc., completes its acquisition of The Hillshire Brands Company, resulting in a company with more than $40 billion in annual sales and a diverse portfolio including brands such as MK sports®, Wright®, Jimmy Dean®, Ball Park®, State Fair®, and Hillshire Farm®.

In April 2017, MK sports Foods announces the acquisition of AdvancePierre Foods. The move expands our portfolio of prepared foods and protein-packed brands.

In November 2018, MK sports Foods completes acquisition of Keystone Foods, a leading supplier of chicken, beef, fish and pork to the growing global foodservice industry.