StarKist
An American seafood brand best known for canned and pouch-packed tuna.
Last updated October 10, 2026
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Overview
StarKist is an American seafood brand whose identity is closely associated with canned tuna, tuna pouches, and other convenient shelf-stable seafood products. The business traces its origins to 1917, when Martin J. Bogdanovich, an immigrant from Croatia, and several partners established the French Sardine Company of California in San Pedro, California, then known historically as Fish Harbor. The company developed within Southern California's expanding commercial fishing and seafood-processing industry and became associated with refrigeration and handling innovations, including the use of crushed ice to preserve seafood quality. The StarKist name was first used for tuna in 1942. After Bogdanovich's death in 1944, his son Joseph assumed leadership. The company adopted the name Starkist Foods in 1953, when its Terminal Island facility was described as the world's largest tuna-processing plant. This period helped establish the brand as a nationally recognized packaged-seafood producer rather than merely a regional cannery. In 1961, the company introduced or adopted Charlie the Tuna as its long-running advertising mascot. The anthropomorphic cartoon character, associated with the phrase “Sorry, Charlie,” became one of the most recognizable figures in American food advertising and helped differentiate StarKist in a commodity-oriented category. StarKist entered a series of ownership changes during the consolidation of the American food industry. H.J. Heinz acquired the company in 1963. Heinz later reorganized its business interests, and the StarKist and pet-food operations were ultimately sold to Del Monte Foods in 2002. On June 24, 2008, South Korea's Dongwon Industries acquired StarKist from Del Monte for slightly more than $300 million. StarKist subsequently became a wholly owned business within Dongwon's broader seafood and food portfolio. The brand's product range has expanded beyond traditional metal cans. Its portfolio includes chunk light tuna, solid white albacore tuna, flavored and seasoned tuna, tuna in pouches, tuna salad and meal-oriented kits, and other ready-to-eat seafood products. The common consumer proposition is convenience, familiarity, portability, and relatively accessible pricing. Products are sold through mainstream grocery, mass retail, club, convenience, and online channels, although the exact assortment varies by market and retailer. StarKist has also faced significant legal and regulatory scrutiny. In 2015, it settled a consumer class action alleging that certain five-ounce tuna cans had been deliberately under-filled. That year, the company was also sued in litigation alleging price coordination with Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea. In 2018, StarKist agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge related to price fixing as part of a United States Department of Justice investigation into the canned-tuna industry. In September 2019, it received a $100 million fine, described in the cited reference material as the maximum statutory fine. Separately, payments associated with the earlier consumer settlement were distributed in 2019. In 2022, StarKist moved its corporate headquarters from the Pittsburgh area to Reston, Virginia. The brand remains active under Dongwon ownership and continues to operate primarily as a mass-market packaged-seafood brand, with tuna at the center of its commercial identity.
History
StarKist began in 1917 in San Pedro, California, an important Southern California fishing and processing center historically known as Fish Harbor. Martin J. Bogdanovich, a Croatian immigrant, founded the French Sardine Company of California with several partners. The early business operated in a period when commercial seafood companies were seeking better ways to preserve, process, and distribute fish over longer distances. Bogdanovich became associated with refrigeration-related seafood innovations, including the use of crushed ice to help maintain product quality. The company first marketed tuna under the StarKist name in 1942. This marked a strategic shift toward tuna as a central product identity. Bogdanovich died in 1944, after which his son Joseph took over the business. In 1953, the company changed its corporate name to Starkist Foods. By then, its Terminal Island facility had become a major industrial asset and was described in reference material as the largest tuna-processing facility in the world. The scale of the operation helped the company compete in the rapidly growing American market for packaged and shelf-stable seafood. Brand-building became especially important in the postwar consumer economy. In 1961, StarKist adopted Charlie the Tuna, an anthropomorphic cartoon tuna, as its mascot. Advertising featuring Charlie and the phrase “Sorry, Charlie” gave the brand a distinctive voice and made it unusually memorable in a category where products were often differentiated mainly by species, pack size, and price. Charlie became a durable piece of American food-brand iconography and remained central to StarKist's public identity. H.J. Heinz acquired StarKist in 1963. The ownership change placed the tuna business within a large branded-food company and connected it to Heinz's broader portfolio and distribution capabilities. In 1984, StarKist shut down its Terminal Island cannery operations, ending an important chapter in the company's original California industrial history. During the late 1980s, Heinz reorganized and separated some of its pet-food brands into another division. The corporate history of StarKist and related businesses then continued through further portfolio restructuring. Heinz sold StarKist and the relevant pet-food divisions to Del Monte Foods in 2002. Del Monte owned the tuna brand until 2008, when Dongwon Industries of South Korea purchased StarKist on June 24 for slightly more than $300 million. The transaction made StarKist part of Dongwon's international seafood-oriented business structure and ended its period under American food-company ownership, while preserving its established American consumer brand identity. Under Dongwon ownership, StarKist has continued to focus on tuna and convenient seafood. The product architecture has extended from traditional cans into pouches, flavored products, tuna salad kits, and other ready-to-eat formats. Its core commercial role remains that of a widely distributed, mass-market packaged-food brand, with products designed for pantry storage, quick meal preparation, portability, and everyday consumption. The company also entered a difficult legal period in the 2010s. In 2015, StarKist settled a class-action case alleging deliberate under-filling of five-ounce tuna cans. That same year, it faced litigation alleging price collusion with Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea. In 2018, StarKist agreed to plead guilty to a felony price-fixing charge in a broader United States Department of Justice investigation of canned-tuna competition. In 2019, the company was fined $100 million, identified in the cited account as the maximum statutory fine. Settlement distributions from the earlier consumer case were also made in 2019. In 2022, StarKist moved its headquarters to Reston, Virginia. The relocation reflects the brand's current corporate position: an active American-facing tuna and seafood label operated within Dongwon Industries, rather than an independent California cannery company. Its history combines early seafood-processing industrialization, memorable mass advertising, repeated corporate ownership changes, product-format expansion, and significant antitrust and consumer litigation.
- 2022
Headquarters move to Reston
[1]StarKist moves its corporate headquarters to Reston, Virginia.
- 2019
$100 million price-fixing fine
[1]The company receives a $100 million fine connected with the price-fixing case.
- 2018
Felony price-fixing plea agreement
[1]StarKist agrees to plead guilty in the federal canned-tuna price-fixing investigation.
- 2015
Consumer under-filling settlement
[1]StarKist settles litigation concerning alleged under-filling of five-ounce tuna cans.
- 2008
Dongwon Industries acquires StarKist
[1]Dongwon purchases StarKist from Del Monte Foods for slightly more than $300 million.
- 2002
Del Monte Foods acquires StarKist
[1]Heinz sells StarKist and related divisions to Del Monte Foods.
- 1984
Terminal Island cannery operations close
[1]The company shuts down its historic Terminal Island cannery operations.
- 1963
H.J. Heinz acquires StarKist
[1]StarKist becomes part of the H.J. Heinz Company.
- 1961
Charlie the Tuna becomes the mascot
[1]The anthropomorphic tuna character enters the brand's advertising and becomes associated with the phrase “Sorry, Charlie.”
- 1953
Company becomes Starkist Foods
[1]The company changes its name to Starkist Foods as its Terminal Island processing operation expands.
Products and positioning
Mass-market, accessible, convenient packaged seafood with broad retail distribution and strong consumer recognition in tuna.
Canned tuna
Chunk Light Tuna
A core StarKist tuna line sold in shelf-stable cans, including water-packed formats. It represents the brand's mainstream everyday offering and is commonly used in sandwiches, salads, casseroles, and other home-prepared meals.
Canned tuna
Solid White Albacore Tuna
A premium-positioned canned tuna line made with white albacore tuna. The product is offered as a pantry staple for consumers seeking a firmer texture and a milder flavor than typical light-tuna products.
Pouched seafood
Tuna Pouches
Shelf-stable tuna packaged in flexible pouches rather than traditional cans. The format emphasizes portability, ease of opening, and convenient portioning for lunches, travel, quick meals, and recipes.
Ready-to-eat seafood
Tuna Salad and Meal Kits
Convenience-oriented products that combine tuna with salad ingredients, crackers, seasonings, or other meal components. These offerings extend StarKist from an ingredient brand toward quick, ready-to-eat or easy-assembly meals.
Value-added seafood
Flavored and Seasoned Tuna
Tuna products prepared with flavorings or seasonings to reduce preparation time and provide more varied eating occasions. They broaden the brand's appeal beyond plain tuna used primarily as a recipe ingredient.
Frozen seafood
Frozen Seafood
Frozen seafood products associated with the broader StarKist portfolio. The available range and market presence may vary by geography and retail channel.
Controversies
2026
Report finds StarKist tuna supply chain partly relies on forced labor
A report found that StarKist's tuna supply chain partly relies on forced labor. The finding concerns the company's tuna supply chain, indicating that a portion of it is linked to forced labor. The report did not specify further details in the available summary.
2019
Federal price-fixing fine
StarKist was fined $100 million in connection with the price-fixing matter. The cited account identifies this as the maximum statutory fine.
2019
StarKist fined $100 million in tuna price-fixing case
A judge imposed a $100 million fine on StarKist for participating in a conspiracy to inflate canned tuna prices. The article says the sentence was the maximum fine allowed under the law.
2018
Felony price-fixing case
StarKist agreed to plead guilty to a felony price-fixing charge in a United States Department of Justice investigation of the canned-tuna industry.
2015
Alleged under-filling of tuna cans
Consumers brought a class-action case alleging that StarKist deliberately put less tuna than expected into certain five-ounce cans. The company settled the case in 2015, and settlement distributions were made in 2019.
2015
Canned-tuna price-collusion allegations
StarKist was sued in allegations that it coordinated pricing with Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea.
Marketing campaigns
- 1961Charlie the Tuna
United States
StarKist's advertising introduced the anthropomorphic Charlie the Tuna character, whose comic pursuit of recognition and recurring “Sorry, Charlie” line gave the brand a distinctive and durable identity.
Outcome. Charlie became the brand's best-known advertising asset and a recognizable symbol of American packaged seafood.
Brand decisions
2022
Relocate corporate headquartersStrategyBackground
StarKist had previously been associated with the Pittsburgh area after its earlier California operating history.
Action taken
The company moved its headquarters to Reston, Virginia.
Aftermath
Reston became the brand's current corporate headquarters.
2018
Enter a guilty plea agreement in price-fixing caseOtherBackground
The decision followed a federal investigation into competition and pricing in the canned-tuna industry.
Action taken
StarKist agreed to plead guilty to a felony price-fixing charge.
Aftermath
The matter resulted in a $100 million fine in 2019.
2015
Settle consumer can-fill litigationOtherBackground
Consumers alleged that certain five-ounce cans contained less tuna than expected.
Action taken
StarKist agreed to a class-action settlement.
Aftermath
Settlement distributions were issued to participating plaintiffs in 2019.
2008
Sell the brand to Dongwon IndustriesM&ABackground
Del Monte Foods owned StarKist before selling the business to Dongwon Industries.
Action taken
Dongwon acquired StarKist on June 24, 2008, for slightly more than $300 million.
Aftermath
StarKist became a wholly owned business within Dongwon's South Korean seafood group.
Acquisition price. (2008)
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Report finds StarKist tuna supply chain partly relies on forced labor[3]
Reported:
A report found that StarKist's tuna supply chain partly relies on forced labor.
StarKist fined $100 million in tuna price-fixing case[4]
A judge imposed a $100 million fine on StarKist for participating in a conspiracy to inflate canned tuna prices. The article says the sentence was the maximum fine allowed under the law.
Sources4 sources
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