Baking & Snack - April 2005 - 46

MARKET

THE UPPER CRUST. Schwan's Consumer Brands
North America, Inc., Bloomington, MN, is the No. 2
frozen pizza vendor with sales of $699.4 million last
year, according to IRI. Its frozen pizza brands include
Tony's, Red Baron and Freschetta. This retail-grocery
division of privately-owned Schwan Food Co. was
founded in 1970 and is the largest global producer of
frozen pizza, according to the company.
"We are constantly evaluating our product
line and listening to
retailers and consumers to develop new
products and enhance
existing products to
meet their needs," said
Darci Eckermann, director of marketing services, Schwan's Consumer
Brands North America.
ᮡ ᮣDiGiorno Microwave Rising
"We lead with innovative
Crust Pizza and Thin Crispy Crust
products, manufacturing,
Pizza helped boost sales as the
brand's two newest introductions.
research and systems innoKRAFT FOODS
vation. As a company, we're
committed to strategic and
aggressive growth through
of DiGiorno Microwave Rising Crust Pizza. It
brand extensions, commitis the first pizza that rises and browns in the microwave.
our employees, excellent quality
The special cooking tray and crisping ring allow consum- ment to training for
ers to "bake" a pizza with a crispy golden crust in the mi- of products that meet the demands of today's consumers
crowave in five minutes. This taps into the convenience and innovation that will drive category growth."
Red Baron, the No. 3 top selling brand with sales of
trend, which is driving growth throughout the baking
industry. The line is available in four cheese, pepperoni, $234.4 million, has a diverse group of products. New to the
lineup is a thin-crust pizza available in six varieties. "There
supreme and three meat.
A premium introduction under the Tombstone brand is growing consumer demand for thin-crust pizza," Ms.
last year was Brick Oven Style Pizza. The crispy-crust Eckermann said. "And frozen thin crust is underdeveloped
compared to restaurant pizza. The new Red Baron Thin
pizza is available in two varieties, cheese and pepperoni.
Crust Pizza has a unique crust
with a proprietary formula
that delivers 'fresh-baked' taste
Dollar sales
Dollar sales
Unit sales
Unit sales
($ mil)
% change
(mil)
% change
combined with a differentiated
vs. year ago
vs. year ago
flavor and topping profile."
Total US Frozen Pizza
Freschetta, the No. 4 brand,
(no supercenters)
$2,603.9
1.6
992.3
1.3
has seen much success with its
Kraft Foods
856.1
4.6
196.4
5.9
Freschetta Brick Oven rectanSchwan's Consumer Brands
gular pizza that features a thin,
North America
699.4
-3.3
210.8
-4.3
(Formerly Tony's Pizza Service)
fire-baked crust. "The square
General Mills
216.0
-2.7
192.0
0.5
shape makes Freschetta Brick
Private label
178.4
2.7
101.8
0.2
Oven pizzas ideal for meals
Nestle USA
170.4
23.0
65.9
26.8
or to cut into smaller pieces as
Jack's Frozen Pizza
155.3
-1.7
57.0
-1.6
an appetizer, and we use high
Aurora Foods
67.3
-0.8
55.2
3.2
quality ingredients and unique
McCain Ellio's Foods
32.8
-4.2
11.5
-11.5
flavors to bring restaurant
Home Run Inn
30.3
22.4
8.5
11.7
quality pizzas to consumers,"
Bud's Pizza
29.2
6.6
12.8
2.3
said Ms. Eckermann. "We
INFORMATION RESOURCES, INC., 52 WEEKS ENDING FEB. 20, 2005

Top 10 Vendors

48 / BAKING & SNACK / April 2005

Baking & Snack - April 2005

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