AUSTIN, Minn. — Geo. A. Hormel & Co. built its reputation on Spam and the slaughterhouse. But the company is now setting its sights on the supermarket.

With a growing, diverse array of more than 1,600 products, Hormel is moving away from the fresh, unbranded meat business and the accompanying risks of unstable pork prices, and into the broader market for processed foods.

Hormel now sells chicken, turkey and catfish, has expanded its Latino food lines and is preparing to enter the Asian foods market. It's also offering low-sodium versions of its cornerstone products, bacon and Spam.

"We have a wonderful base that I think will be the launching pad for a large food company," said R. L. "Dick" Knowlton, Hormel's chief executive. "I think prepared foods is where the future of this whole thing is going to evolve."

A sign that change will continue at Hormel was the announcement this summer that Joel Johnson will be the company's president and heir-apparent to Knowlton.

Johnson, 49, came to Hormel 1 1/2 years ago after spending six years learning the meat business at Oscar Mayer Foods. Before that, he spent 19 years in consumer marketing with General Foods Inc.

If Johnson succeeds Knowlton, he will be the first man without a lengthy association with Hormel to lead the company.

Knowlton, 60, grew up in the shadow of Hormel's old flagship Austin plant and began working there slaughtering hogs when he was 16. Hormel's CEOs traditionally have retired at 62, but Knowlton faces no mandatory retirement age.

"I certainly haven't given up the chief executive office and don't intend to right away," Knowlton said. "We're going to make sure this organization is very strong."

Food industry analysts say Johnson is the right man to carry on what Knowlton started 13 years ago.

"I think they've emerged from a slaughterer to a significant force in the processing business," said John McMillin, an analyst for Prudential Securities Inc. in New York. "To bring in a pro from Oscar Mayer, it kind of indicates that they're in the big leagues."

Knowlton's decision to broaden Hormel's horizons came in 1979 during his first days as the company's leader.

An economist told Knowlton and other representatives of packing companies that they should become less dependent on the unpredictable fresh meat market and produce more "value-added" foods, which have bigger profit margins and more stable prices.