COLUMBUS® Craft Meats Launches New Entertaining Tray Featuring Ready-to-Serve Charcuterie and Cheese Pairings

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Jan 21, 2026, 08:00 ET

Latest offering responds to growing consumer demand for convenient hosting options

AUSTIN, Minn., Jan. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- COLUMBUS^® Craft Meats, a leading brand in premium salumi, is introducing a new charcuterie product designed for easy entertaining and hosting: COLUMBUS^® Entertaining Tray.

With at-home entertaining on the rise, consumers are looking for solutions that make gathering feel special without added stress. In response to this demand, the COLUMBUS^® Craft Meats brand has unveiled a ready-to-serve charcuterie and cheese tray designed for modern hosts who value both flavor and efficiency. From Galentine's Day celebrations to game nights, today's gatherings are more frequent, more casual and centered around connection.

With 61% of Gen Z and Millennials using micro-moments to gather more frequently and 86% of these consumers saying convenience is extremely important to them when choosing what to eat,* a hosting option that requires zero prep, leaves no mess and wins on convenience as much as flavor is the perfect answer.

"Consumers are gravitating toward convenience and looking for easy ways to serve delicious charcuterie," said Katie Yan, brand manager for COLUMBUS^® Craft Meats. "One-third of consumers incorporate charcuterie boards when entertaining or hosting, and 35% of shoppers say they would purchase a pre-made charcuterie board.* Products like this make charcuterie even more accessible to everyone."

With Italian heritage and San Francisco roots, COLUMBUS^® Craft Meats has existing success in the charcuterie category, leading the growing premade charcuterie tray segment with its COLUMBUS^® Tasting Board item. This new COLUMBUS^®Entertaining Tray offering, featuring COLUMBUS^® Italian Dry Salame and COLUMBUS^® Peppered Salame removes the need to identify pairings and make separate purchases by providing white cheddar and gouda as complements for easy charcuterie combinations. COLUMBUS^® Italian Dry Salame and COLUMBUS^® Peppered Salame, two top-selling products, are crafted with select cuts of pork, cracked black pepper, a signature blend of spices and burgundy wine—giving it a unique richness and aroma, as well as a nice bite from the slow curing. The tray also is gluten-free.

The COLUMBUS^® Entertaining Tray is available at select retailers nationwide, including Hy-Vee, Target and Wakefern. The item is sold in a 12-ounce tray with a suggested retail price of $15.49.

* Sources: Deloitte 2024, Numerator 2023, Mintel 2025

About Columbus^® Craft Meats
Founded in 1917 by Italian immigrants in San Francisco, Columbus Manufacturing, Inc. produces premium salumi and deli meats sold in grocery deli departments nationwide. The company's craft meats are made authentically from traditional recipes that bring out the bold, unique flavors of the finest cuts of meat, making the brand a leader in today's market. Columbus Manufacturing, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL). More information can be found at columbuscraftmeats.com.

About Hormel Foods — Inspired People. Inspired Food.^™
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota, is a global branded food company with approximately $12 billion in annual revenue. Its brands include PLANTERS^®, SKIPPY^®, SPAM^®, HORMEL^® NATURAL CHOICE^®, APPLEGATE^®, WHOLLY^®, HORMEL^® BLACK LABEL^®, COLUMBUS^®, JENNIE-O^® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report, one of America's most responsible companies by Newsweek, recognized by TIME magazine as one of the World's Best Companies and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement — Inspired People. Inspired Food.^™ — to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com.