Conagra Drops Chef Boyardee Brand

Conagra Brands is optimizing its portfolio, divesting the Chef Boyardee brand, which has been purchased by Hometown Food Company.

Hometown owns such brands as Funfetti, Pillsbury and Hungry Jack.  

The $600 million deal includes a manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania along with assets and operations related to Chef Boyardee shelf-stable products, such as ready-to-eat pasta meals — with the exception of frozen skillet meals, which will be licensed to Conagra.

During an investor's call last year, Sean Connolly, president and CEO of Conagra, said frozen and snacks were the two most critical businesses in the company’s portfolio. 

Also read: Conagra and Circana Point to changes in frozen food trends 

The Chef Boyardee products that are part of the transaction accounted for about $450 million of Conagra's fiscal year 2024 net sales, the company reported.

"The Chef Boyardee divestiture marks another milestone in reshaping the Conagra Brands portfolio for better long-term growth, while also paying down debt," said Connolly in a statement. 

Last year, Conagra acquired Sweetwood Smoke & Co. as part of efforts to grow in the snacking category.  

“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,” added Connolly.