In 1988, Ralston sold its Van Camp division to an Indonesian corporation, PT Mantrust (headed by Teguh Sutantyo), which had financial problems, and the primary creditor, Prudential Life Insurance Company, became the majority owner.

With the 2003 acquisition of Empress International, an importer of frozen shrimp and other shellfish, Chicken of the Sea's total annual sales climbed to US$600 million.

In August 2015, Olean Wholesale Grocery, a regional cooperative of supermarkets in upstate New York, sued Chicken of the Sea and both of its competitors, Bumble Bee Foods and StarKist, accusing the three of colluding to fix prices.

[3] Chicken of the Sea was in talks to merge with Bumble Bee at the time, but it was called off on 3 December 2015 after the US Justice Department expressed "serious concerns" stemming from the Olean Wholesale lawsuit.

In her book The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy, Grace Lee Whitney is credited as being the original Chicken of the Sea Mermaid.