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Abstract
This paper chronicles the brand backstory of Tyson Foods as outlined in Signorelli’s
Story Branding 2.0: Creating Stand-out Brands Through the Power of Story. The analysis
includes four sections that utilize Signorelli’s ideas for examining the brand backstory’s three-
part structure: “In the Beginning,” “Then What?”, “And Now?” followed by applying the SWOT
model to measure the brand’s current standing.
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Introduction
Before Tyson Foods became the household name America knows it as today, it was a
small poultry farm in Springdale, Arkansas. John W. Tyson took a gamble when he decided to
move his family “in search of new opportunities” (“Our History”) during the height of the Great
Depression, but in hindsight, it proved to be the best decision he ever made. His small farm
eventually grew into a multi-million dollar empire that provides meat to millions of American
households and beyond. Yet, the most intriguing part of his brand’s rise to success is not
necessarily the success itself but the road to how he got there—his brand’s backstory. According
to Signorelli, a brand’s backstory “describes when, where, and why the story takes place” (2022,
p. 73) and is split into “three sections: ‘In the beginning’; ‘Then what?’; and ‘And now?’” (74).
John W. Tyson’s backstory can be summed up in just one line: a hardworking man who saw a
need and steadfastly addressed it.
In the Beginning
Signorelli writes, “Inevitably we start at the start, with the history of how the brand
began, who started it, and why” (74). Trying to make a living during the Great Depression was
immensely difficult for many American families. The Depression reaped a massive dip in
employment: “A quarter of the U.S. workforce was unemployed. Those that were lucky enough
to have steady employment often saw their wages cut or their hours reduced to part-time”
(Konkel, 2023). This not only meant that work was often competitive, but that many had to get
creative in order to find ways to make ends meet. Once Tyson moved his family to Arkansaw, he
spent his first few years there hauling chickens, fruit, and hay before recognizing a demand for
poultry in the northern part of the United States, so he bought 50 chickens to sell in Chicago and
named his new business Tyson Feed & Hatchery (Talley, 2019).
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Additionally, Signorelli asks, “What was the original vision? Does this vision remain the
same today?” (74). Tyson essentially started his brand for two reasons: to provide for his family
and to fulfill the demand for poultry in the north. He was a struggling farmer trying to stay afloat
just like so many other Americans at that time. On the company’s website, its Purpose Statement
reads, “We feed the world like family,” which arguably holds to Tyson’s original goal to quite
literally feed his family. Tyson can be viewed as an underdog—a hardworking man whose
innovative ideas and determination led to success that has spanned generations and fed millions
of other Americans.
Then What?
For this segment, Signorelli poses the question, “Was the brand a success from the start?”
(74). While this newfound market for chicken allowed Tyson to make a steady income to support
his family during the Depression, his business would not start to actually take off for another few
years: “Tyson’s young business expanded greatly during World War II as food rationing quickly
drove up the demand for chicken. He expanded his company and began raising chicks and
grinding feed for local farmers” (Talley, 2019). Tyson’s brand was indeed a success early on, but
it was mostly due to the fact that he fulfilled a need during a dark period in American history.
What is interesting about Tyson Chicken is that it was founded out of necessity—for both
himself and other Americans—but expanded into something greater.
Signorelli expands his question: “How did the brand change, improve, or even degenerate
into what it is today?” (74). Post-war, Tyson expanded his company by buying a broiler farm and
started raising New Hampshire Red Christy chickens specifically for meat, until “he threw the
industry a curveball when he began cross-breeding his birds, resulting in poultry that performed
better than pedigrees” (Talley, 2019). By the 1950s, Tyson Feed and Hatchery had become an
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incorporated business and John W.’s son, Don, had graduated college and joined the company’s
masthead as a general manager (Reuter). However, many consider the 1960s to be the decade
that concreteized the company’s success. Several major developments occurred in this period,
including the company changing its name to Tyson Foods, Tyson and his son making the
company public by entering the stock market, and Tyson buying Garrett Poultry Company of
Rogers (Talley, 2019). Most notably, Tyson and his wife were killed in a car accident, pushing
their son into the position of Tyson Foods’ new CEO. From the 70s onward, Tyson Foods
continued to expand its product line, modernize its technology, and take over the poultry
industry. Holding to the company’s tradition, Don stepped down from CEO and passed the honor
down to his son, John H. (Talley).
And Now?
Finally, Signorelli writes that this section is “perhaps the most important since this is
where we get handed the baton. Based on what we know about the past, if there is one, it is our
job to move the brand story forward” (p. 74). Today, Tyson is lauded as the Chicken King and
“one of the top four meat companies in the US, selling one out of every five pounds of beef,
pork, and chicken eaten by American consumers” (Reuter, 2023). In order to analyze and
determine the current state of the brand, one can use the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) method outlined in Signorelli (74).
One enduring strength of the company is its brand recognition, which is bolstered by its
association with and ownership of brands like Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm. One weakness of
the brand is its unfortunate recent lawsuit “for allegedly misleading consumers by saying it will
reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and marketing climate-friendly beef without meaningful plans
to achieve those goals” (Douglas, 2024), which has damaged and betrayed the company’s
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reputation and the values it promotes. One opportunity for the company, which could help solve
the problem that caused the lawsuit, is for the brand to expand its product line to include plant-
based meat alternatives. Finally, a threat to Tyson Foods is undoubtedly competition with other
brands such as Hormel Foods or Simple Truth Organic.
Conclusion
Tyson Foods’ backstory is not only an inspiring and relatable one but a testament to how
a brand’s backstory can help shape its identity. Tyson established itself as an all-American,
family-focused company early on and has since carried those roots into the 21st century.
Signorelli wisely purports that a brand’s backstory “provides the background necessary to
explain the problem that marketing must solve” (2022, p. 65). John W. Tyson saw a market, a
need, for a product during a seemingly hopeless period in history and worked accordingly,
feeding both his own family and millions of others in the process.
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References
Douglas, L. (2024). Green Group Sues Tyson Foods for Allegedly False Climate Claims.
Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/green-group-sues-tyson-
foods-allegedly-false-climate-claims-2024-09-18/#:~:text=Sept%2018%20(Reuters)
%20%2D%20An,a%20Reuters%20request%20for%20comment.
Konkel, L. (2023). Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression. History.com.
https://www.history.com/news/life-for-the-average-family-during-the-great-depression.
Our History. (n.d.). Tyson Foods.
https://www.tysonfoods.com/who-we-are/our-story/where-we-came-from/our-history.
Our Purpose. (n.d.). Tyson Foods.
https://www.tysonfoods.com/who-we-are/our-story/where-we-came-from/our-history.
Reuter, D. (2023). Meet the Billionaire Family Behind Tyson Foods, the Beef, Pork, and Chicken
Juggernaut Whose Heir Apparent Has Battled Legal Troubles. Business Insider.
https://www.businessinsider.com/who-owns-tyson-foods-history-2023-5.
Signorelli, J. (2022). Storybranding 2.0: Creating Stand-out Brands Through the Purpose of
Story. River Grove Books, pp. 65, 73-74,
https://www.everand.com/read/385414784/StoryBranding-2-0-Second-Edition-Creating-
Stand-Out-Brands-Through-the-Purpose-of-Story#Links to an external site.
Talley, C. (2019). Hall of Famer: John W. Tyson 1905 – 1967. AMP: Arkansas Money and
Politics. https://armoneyandpolitics.com/hall-famer-john-tyson-1905-1967/.
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