OMAHA, Neb., Jun 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) one of North America's leading food makers, today announced the purchase, effective June 9, 2011, of the Marie Callender's® brand trademarks from Marie Callender Pie Shops, Inc., for a price of $57.5 million. Marie Callender Pie Shops, Inc. operates the Marie Callender's® Restaurant & Bakery chain in California and the southwestern U.S.
This transaction fits into ConAgra Foods' acquisition strategy which seeks to add depth and strength to its existing product lines in key strategic pillars such as convenient meals, snacks and meal enhancers.
"ConAgra Foods has experienced great success as a long-term licensee of the Marie Callender's trademark more than tripling the brand's annual retail sales in the past ten years," said André Hawaux, Consumer Foods president, ConAgra Foods. "Owning the trademark not only allows for greater control of the brand, but gives us the added flexibility to further grow the Marie Callender's brand."
The company's current Marie Callender's frozen foods business includes pot pies, desserts and a wide array of single and multi-serve frozen dinners and entrees, sales of which have grown to nearly $800 million annually. Marie Callender's is now ConAgra Foods' No. 2 retail brand, after Banquet®, selling 284 million frozen meals and desserts each year .
ConAgra Foods originally acquired a license to sell Marie Callender's frozen meals and pot pies in 1994. In 2010, the company additionally acquired the license for frozen dessert pies held by American Pie, LLC. This latest acquisition on June 9 represents the purchase of the brand trademarks from the restaurant operating company with ConAgra Foods taking ownership of the Marie Callender's trademarks. Concurrent with the purchase, ConAgra Foods will no longer pay licensing fees to Marie Callender Pie Shops, Inc. and has granted the restaurant chain a license for the continued use of the Marie Callender's brand name for its restaurant and bakery operations.
About ConAgra Foods
Marie Callender's is a brand of ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG), one of North America's leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America's households. Consumers find Banquet,Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack and many other ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.
SOURCE: ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods
Teresa Paulsen, 402-240-5210
teresa.paulsen@conagrafoods.com
www.conagrafoods.com
