Under control. Out of control. There’s a big difference. Twitter tells us that 2010’s top news stories were BP’s oil spill in the Gulf, the earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Pakistan. Each event or accident was seemingly larger-than-life, uncontrollable and/or unavoidable.
Food processors faced similar unavoidable issues in their world. A weak economy. Higher cost-of-living expenses. These lingering conditions had consumers dining in more often and eyeing private label options as well. Behind the scenes, food processors also faced higher energy and raw input costs.
There’s no denying that these factors depressed category leaders’ domestic results in each of six major refrigerated and frozen food sectors. Even so, a detailed look reveals that industry leaders excelled across several areas that were under their control. Case in point: ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston business opened the frozen food industry’s first LEED Platinum certified plant. Elsewhere, Nestle Prepared Foods integrated its frozen pizza business and launched an award-winning new entrée line. General Mills and Tyson Foods posted strong earnings performance and dairy giant Dean Foods pushed improvements in operations, sustainability and its product mix.
Read on in R&FF’s 14th annual “Top 150 Food Processors” for more about these developments and a review of “who’s who” in each category.
About This Report
Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 14th annual industry leaders report profiles the top 25 processors in each of six refrigerated and frozen food sectors. Processors are ranked by annual net sales and listings represent R&FF’s best efforts to reflect pertinent sales from all channels. Sales figures and estimates are based on company reports, news releases, market analysts’ reports, industry media and other sources. Figures exclude shelf-stable products.