Latest news with #MarieCallender
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conagra Brands creates jobs in Missouri with plant investment project
Conagra Brands is investing almost $30m to upgrade equipment at a plant in Missouri producing the company's Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's meals. The project at the publicly listed US food business' facility in the city of Macon will create 26 jobs, adding to the 340 existing positions, according to a joint statement from Conagra and the local development authority. Conagra said the $29.1m investment includes the replacement of 'outdated equipment' and to increase the site's food cooling capabilities. Baking ovens and freezers will be replaced, while new equipment for 'dewatering' processes and raw meat inspection and processing will be brought in to expand the products manufactured at the premises. 'This expansion represents a meaningful investment in both our business and the local community and we're proud to continue building our presence here,' John Phipps, the manager of Conagra's Macon facility, said. 'We value our strong partnership with the city of Macon and look forward to expanding our operations.' Missouri's Department of Economic Development will provide undisclosed tax credits and access to capital for the Macon project, according to the statement. The expansion at Macon follows the Birds Eye and Duncan Hines brand maker's decision earlier this year to close its pie filling plant in Fennville, Michigan, by the end of June, putting 85 worker's jobs on the line. Last year, Conagra also permanently closed its Birds Eye frozen vegetables plant in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, with the loss of 252 jobs. Around another 500 employees will also be trimmed from the group workforce after Conagra said earlier this month it was selling its Chef Boyardee shelf-stable pasta business to Hometown Food Company for $600m in cash. The deal includes a 820,000 square-foot production facility in Milton, Pennsylvania, and all the staff employed at the plant. Chef Boyardee's shelf-stable products generated approximately $450m in net sales for Conagra in 2024. Before the disposal was announced, Conagra issued its third-quarter results in April, when it kept its guidance unchanged for a range of metrics in 2025. The maker of the snack brand Angie's Boomchickapop forecasts group-wide organic net sales will decline by around 2% following a year-to-date decline of 2.8% to $8.83bn over the nine months of the current fiscal year. Conagra foresees an adjusted operating margin of 14.4% and adjusted EPS of $2.35. The margin fell to 14.2% over the nine months from 16.3% in the same period of 2024, while adjusted EPS dropped to $1.73 from $2.06. Elsewhere in the year-to-date results, adjusted operating profit decreased 26% to $1.04bn. Net income fell 2% to $896.5m. "Conagra Brands creates jobs in Missouri with plant investment project" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conagra to sell Chef Boyardee to private equity firm for $600M
This story was originally published on Food Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Food Dive newsletter. Conagra Brands is selling the Chef Boyardee brand to Hometown Food company, part of private equity firm Brynwood Partners, for $600 million. Hometown will acquire a Pennsylvania plant and Chef Boyardee's shelf-stable products with the exception of its frozen skillet meals, which will be licensed to Conagra. The Chef Boyardee products that are part of the transaction contributed approximately $450 million in net sales during Conagra's fiscal year 2024. The sale is expected to close before its first quarter ends, which historically has been late August. Conagra has prioritized two major food categories: snacks, such as Slim Jim meat sticks and Angie's Boomchickapop popcorn; and frozen meals, like Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's. In recent years, it has sold peanut butter brand Peter Pan and Wesson cooking oil, and acquired premium meat stick brand Fatty. "The Chef Boyardee divestiture marks another milestone in reshaping the Conagra Brands portfolio for better long-term growth, while also paying down debt,' Sean Connolly, Conagra's CEO, said in a statement. 'By deepening our focus on our leading, growth-oriented frozen and healthy-snacking businesses, we continue to build a more focused company with modern consumer brands." Conagra has avoided large acquisitions following its $10.9 billion purchase in 2018 of Pinnacle Foods, which added well-known brands such as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines and Vlasic to the fold. Since then, the company has worked to invest in its portfolio and pay down debt. The sale of Chef Boyardee should go a long way toward helping Conagra lower its debt level and place it in a stronger financial position should it find a larger M&A deal to its liking. In a statement, Henk Hartong, the CEO of Brynwood Partners, said the Chef Boyardee acquisition is the largest acquisition in its 40-year history. The firm plans to 'reinvigorate the Chef Boyardee brand and extend into new formats quickly,' he said. Conagra has owned Chef Boyardee, which makes predominantly canned pasta with Italian-inspired offerings like Beef Ravioli and Spaghetti & Meatballs, for more than two decades. It acquired the brand in 2000 following its $2.9 billion purchase of International Home Foods, which also included Pam cooking spray. Chef Boyardee was created by Hector Boiardi, an Italian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1914, the brand said on its website. He later opened a popular Italian restaurant in Cleveland where guests would ask for his pasta and sauce recipes, leading to the idea of selling his food for home consumption. Recommended Reading Conagra Brands adds 'GLP-1 friendly' label to some Healthy Choice meals Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Celebrate Pi Day today with the best store-bought apple pie, according to a pro baker
When your mom teaches math for a living, Pi Day is a holiday that always gets celebrated. Every year, without fail, my mom calls me on March 14 during which she'll recite far more pi digits than any person should know. I respect her impressive (if slightly dorky!) party trick, but as a former professional baker? I prefer to celebrate today, Pi Day, by ... eating pie. A meal just isn't complete without a sweet finale in my humble (pie) opinion — and I'm here to tell you that there's no shame in foregoing the homemade route for a store-bought apple pie. But you don't want to opt for just any pre-made option. There are several widely available frozen apple pies on the market from brands like Sara Lee, Mrs. Smith's and Marie Callender's. They can't all be created equal, can they? That's what I set out to determine. I've made (and enjoyed) many a pie in my day, but just to keep any pastry biases I might have in check, I enlisted the help of my sister, Chelsea, who manages a Philadelphia-based restaurant called Alice, and my husband, Dan, an enthusiastic pie eater. I set aside time to bake all three pies one morning so we could sample them side-by-side for a true comparison. Now, you might be thinking, "Britt, I'm pretty sure there are four slices of pie on that plate, not three." And you'd be correct! In addition to the three frozen pies, I also picked up a pre-baked pie from Whole Foods as a control. It tastes pretty close to homemade, so I compared the frozen pies against it just to see if there were any big differences. Alright, ready to see how these frozen treats fared? Keep scrolling to see which one(s) deserves a spot on your Pi Day table. Just to have a non-frozen pie to compare the others to, I picked up a fresh apple pie from Whole Foods Market. We thought it was just slightly tastier than the Marie Callender's apple pie, and is a fab option if you want a ready-to-eat dessert. In case you've never purchased a frozen pie before, you can rest assured that preparing one is easy as, well, you know. All you have to do is remove the pie from its box and plastic wrapping, place it on a sheet tray and bake it in a preheated oven according to the package's instructions. That's it! Some pies have an additional step of making slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape, but that's really the only "work" required on your part. In terms of prep, the Sara Lee and Mrs. Smith's pies required scoring the crusts, while the Marie Callender's pie did not — and that's because it had a lattice crust, meaning there were already openings in it. Each set of instructions recommended covering the sheet tray with aluminum foil before placing the pie on it and baking; that way, should any filling bubble over, it would stick to the foil and not make a mess of the tray. I only had enough foil for one pie, so I used parchment paper for the others and it worked out just fine. All of the pies included the optional suggestion of brushing the crust with an egg wash for a more golden color, but to keep things as simple as possible (which is what buying a frozen pie is all about!), I skipped this step. Also, if you haven't noticed, eggs are pretty pricey these days... Directions varied slightly when it came to baking temperature, ranging from 400° F to 425° F; internal pie temperatures ranged from 160° F to 165° F. I served all of the pies at room temperature, not only for consistency purposes but because I feel it's easier to detect nuances in flavor when food isn't piping hot. To assess these pies as fairly as possible, I numbered them rather than telling Chelsea and Dan which pie was from which brand. I also made score sheets so we could write down our notes on the appearance, flavor and texture of each pie, as well as give them an overall rating, from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best pie we've ever had in our lives. (Spoiler alert: None of these pies were quite at that level, but some scored pretty high!) As for our testing pool, I selected brands that are widely available across the country, and went with the most traditional versions I could find. For instance, some brands make Dutch apple pies or apple crumb pies — for consistency's sake, I left those out because anything with a streusel topping has an unfair advantage in my book. On a similar note, here's what I generally look for in an apple pie: a crust that's tender but not super soft, ample flakiness and a filling that marries sweetness and tartness, ideally with a bit of spice. I also prefer a medium-sized apple slice — too small, and the filling becomes mushy; too big, and the apples sometimes aren't cooked enough. Store-bought apple pies are super low-maintenance, but there are a few tools you'll need for baking and slicing 'em up. Here's what I used: And if you'd like to try your hand at a from-scratch pie...
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Celebrate Pi Day with the best store-bought apple pie, according to a pro baker
When you have a math teacher for a mother, Pi Day is a holiday that never goes unobserved. Every year, without fail, I'll get a call from my mom on March 14, during which she'll recite far more pi digits than the average person should be able to memorize. I respect her impressive (if slightly dorky!) party trick, but as a former professional baker? I prefer to celebrate Pi Day by ... eating pie. Even on an ordinary day, a meal just isn't complete without a sweet finale, in my humble (pie) opinion — and I'm here to tell you that there's no shame in foregoing the homemade route for an easy-breezy store-bought apple pie. But you don't want to opt for just any pre-made option. There are several widely available frozen apple pies on the market from brands like Sara Lee, Mrs. Smith's and Marie Callender's. They can't all be created equal, can they? That's what I set out to determine. I've made (and enjoyed) many a pie in my day, but just to keep any pastry biases I might have in check, I enlisted the help of my sister, Chelsea, who manages a Philadelphia-based restaurant called Alice, and my husband, Dan, an enthusiastic pie eater. I set aside time to bake all three pies one morning so we could sample them side-by-side for a true comparison. Now, you might be thinking, "Britt, I'm pretty sure there are four slices of pie on that plate, not three." And you'd be correct! In addition to the three frozen pies, I also picked up a pre-baked pie from Whole Foods as a control. It tastes pretty close to homemade, so I compared the frozen pies against it just to see if there were any big differences. Alright, ready to see how these frozen treats fared? Keep scrolling to see which one(s) deserves a spot on your Pi Day table. Just to have a non-frozen pie to compare the others to, I picked up a fresh apple pie from Whole Foods Market. We thought it was just slightly tastier than the Marie Callender's apple pie, and is a fab option if you want a ready-to-eat dessert. In case you've never purchased a frozen pie before, you can rest assured that preparing one is easy as, well, you know. All you have to do is remove the pie from its box and plastic wrapping, place it on a sheet tray and bake it in a preheated oven according to the package's instructions. That's it! Some pies have an additional step of making slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape, but that's really the only "work" required on your part. In terms of prep, the Sara Lee and Mrs. Smith's pies required scoring the crusts, while the Marie Callender's pie did not — and that's because it had a lattice crust, meaning there were already openings in it. Each set of instructions recommended covering the sheet tray with aluminum foil before placing the pie on it and baking; that way, should any filling bubble over, it would stick to the foil and not make a mess of the tray. I only had enough foil for one pie, so I used parchment paper for the others and it worked out just fine. All of the pies included the optional suggestion of brushing the crust with an egg wash for a more golden color, but to keep things as simple as possible (which is what buying a frozen pie is all about!), I skipped this step. Also, if you haven't noticed, eggs are pretty pricey these days... Directions varied slightly when it came to baking temperature, ranging from 400° F to 425° F; internal pie temperatures ranged from 160° F to 165° F. I served all of the pies at room temperature, not only for consistency purposes but because I feel it's easier to detect nuances in flavor when food isn't piping hot. To assess these pies as fairly as possible, I numbered them rather than telling Chelsea and Dan which pie was from which brand. I also made score sheets so we could write down our notes on the appearance, flavor and texture of each pie, as well as give them an overall rating, from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best pie we've ever had in our lives. (Spoiler alert: None of these pies were quite at that level, but some scored pretty high!) As for our testing pool, I selected brands that are widely available across the country, and went with the most traditional versions I could find. For instance, some brands make Dutch apple pies or apple crumb pies — for consistency's sake, I left those out because anything with a streusel topping has an unfair advantage in my book. On a similar note, here's what I generally look for in an apple pie: a crust that's tender but not super soft, ample flakiness and a filling that marries sweetness and tartness, ideally with a bit of spice. I also prefer a medium-sized apple slice — too small, and the filling becomes mushy; too big, and the apples sometimes aren't cooked enough. Store-bought apple pies are super low-maintenance, but there are a few tools you'll need for baking and slicing 'em up. Here's what I used: And if you'd like to try your hand at a from-scratch pie...
New York Times
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Three Potpies That Go Beyond Chicken
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to eat potpie. Like its dessert counterpart, the potpie is everything I want in a dish: a rich amalgam of textures, always filling and eternally comforting. I grew up eating Marie Callender's mini potpies from the frozen food aisle (Marie, you'll always be famous, girl) and post-Thanksgiving potpies made with all that leftover turkey and store-bought pie crust. It was only in adulthood (and in New York) that I realized the incredible heights a potpie could reach — I'm talking veritable clouds of puff pastry over piping hot stewed chicken and vegetables like the kind you'll find at the Waverly Inn or Kellogg's Diner — as well as the magic New York City restaurants could work with potpies of the non-chicken variety. Here are three options that have recently melted my cold, wintry heart. We need to talk about Greenpoint. More specifically, we need to talk about that strip of Greenpoint Avenue between West Street and Transmitter Park that is teeming with restaurants: Taku Sando, El Pingüino, Radio Star, Panzón and, of course, Lingo, which opened almost two years ago. So often I'm meeting restaurants early in their lifetime, so it was nice to walk into a restaurant — this one from the chef Emily Yuen, an alum of the Japanese restaurant Bessou — that knows exactly what it's about. Personally, I was about the beef pie, a stunning potpie served in an oval-shaped dish with a hunk of bone as a vent. 'Beef pie' as a description really undersells what makes this menu item so special because underneath that thin but crispy sheet of crust is a tantalizing beef curry with root vegetables in the style of Hokkaido, Japan, where it's prepared more like a thin stew and enriched with a buttery roux. When we dropped by for dinner on a snowy Sunday night, my friend Joey and I chipped every piece of crust off the edge of the platter long after the curry had disappeared. 27 Greenpoint Avenue (West Street) Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
