What Happens When You Mix Hello Kitty With Spam? A Snack for Fans

by Katie Chin, Tastemaker in Residence

Katie Chin, a Los Angeles-based chef and Sanrio consultant, likes to add a flower-shaped boiled carrot for “Hawaiian flair” to her culinary Hello Kitty. Ahead of her presentation at Hormel Foods Corp., Ms. Chin prepared Hello Kitty musubi at her sister’s home in Edina, Minn., then rode nearly two hours south to Hormel’s Austin, Minn., headquarters with the edible cat on her lap.

With an overlapping fan base, especially in Asia, Hormel proved an easy sell. Executives from both companies say their cultures blend well: They understand the power of camp value. Anyone can buy Hello Kitty-themed electric guitars or a canjo: a stringed instrument with an empty Spam can at the base.

To read more about Asian meets Spam and Hello Kitty with Katie Chin; see the Wall Street Journal details.