Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2019 - 68

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Conagra Brands, Inc.
Integration of Pinnacle Foods was a priority for the company in 2019
onagra Brands, Inc. completed its $10.9
billion acquisition of Pinnacle Foods, Inc.
on Oct. 26, 2018. Management has spent
much of 2019 integrating the business, which includes such brands as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines,
Wish-Bone, Log Cabin and others.
The integration of Pinnacle Foods got off to
a rocky start as net sales during the first quarter
post-acquisition came in below Conagra's expectations. Management said the sluggish start was due
to "subpar innovation and executional missteps."
Conagra was able to get the business on track in
subsequent quarters.
A strategy of emphasizing profit margins versus
volume is central to president and chief executive officer Sean M. Connolly's 2020 vision for the
company. It is a strategy that helped the Chicagobased company achieve profitable growth and
market share gains in its frozen meals and snacks
businesses, and is being applied to the Pinnacle
Foods portfolio.
Value-added innovation being applied to
some Pinnacle brands include the introduction
of Birds Eye Veggie Shreds, which are steam-inthe-bag lightly seasoned shredded vegetables.
The Duncan Hines brand has been extended
into the snack segment with the introduction of
Gooey Bakes and Mug Cake Mixes.

Conagra Brands also said it is entering the
emerging meat alternative market in a significant
fashion in 2020.
"Based on our analysis of product substitution in
other categories, almond milk for cow's milk as an
example, we can reasonably predict the opportunity for plant-based meat alternatives," Mr. Connolly
said. "And here is where it gets really exciting because the opportunity shouldn't be viewed as just a
percentage of fresh meat. We think the opportunity
is a percentage of all foods that contain meat."
Mr. Connolly forecast U.S. meat alternative sales
could reach $30 billion. To capitalize on the perceived opportunity Conagra Brands plans to leverage the Gardein brand, which was a part of the Pinnacle Foods acquisition. Mr. Connolly said Gardein
currently has sales of more than $170 million, is the
second largest brand in the meat alternative space
and has quadrupled in size over the past four years.
The brand has two manufacturing plants in
Richmond, B.C., and Hagerstown, Md. Additional

processing capacity is expected to be operational
this fall and will give Gardein the ability to grow,
according to Conagra.
Innovation from the company includes a meatless burger, which Mr. Connolly called an underdeveloped part of the Gardein business. Conagra
also plans to introduce meatless hot dogs and sausage products. Cobranding also will be central to
Conagra's go-to-market strategy as it pairs Gardein
products with such brands as Healthy Choice, Birds
Eye, Marie Callender's and Udi's.
The company is building The Conagra Brands
Center for Food Design in Chicago, located next to
the company's headquarters. The 40,000-squarefoot research and development center will be an
expansion of the company's current facility.
The innovation center will focus on innovation
related to snacking and combine food and packaging design capabilities. The innovation center is
scheduled to open during the first quarter of 2020.
An Italian investment company owned by Consilum SGR S.p.A., Progressio SGR S.p.A. and MMM
S.r.l. acquired the Gelit Italian frozen pasta business from Conagra Brands in 2019. Financial terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Doganella di Ninfa, Italy, Gelit produces Italian frozen food and ready meals primarily for
private label customers. CP

Chief executive officer -
Sean M. Connolly

Conagra Brands, Inc.
net income (loss)

Conagra Brands, Inc.
net sales

(fiscal years ended in May)

Conagra Brands share price

per share

(fiscal years ended in May)

$35

$639

2017

68 \ November 2019

$808

2018

$678

2019

in millions

$31
$27

$7,827

$7,938

$9,538
$23

2017

2018

2019

$19
Oct.
2018

Dec.

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Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2019

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