The Company Behind Marie Callender's Frozen Foods Also Owns The Brand's 2 Biggest Rivals

When you look at all the products on a supermarket's shelves, you may find yourself as overwhelmed as former Russian president Boris Yeltsin in an American grocery store: You're presented with such an abundant range of products that you might end up waxing rhapsodic about the competition that capitalism breeds, or something like that. But don't get too far ahead of yourself. You may be faced with over a dozen brands of, say, potato chips, but those brands could be owned by just a handful of corporations. So it goes with frozen food: Conagra, which owns Marie Callender's, also owns Banquet and Duncan Hines, two of its rivals in the sweet and savory pie departments.

Now, granted, it's not like it's complete market capture. If you're buying Marie Callender's, you probably won't find yourself reaching for Banquet, a frozen dinner brand whose primary selling point is its affordability. (We weren't impressed by Banquet's offering when ranking frozen chicken nuggets from worst to best.) And Duncan Hines offers dessert mixes, such as for cakes and brownies, rather than the frozen pies offered by Marie Callender's. 

But it's still a little jarring to know that all three brands are owned by Conagra. The company bought the license to sell Marie Callender's frozen food line back in 1994 and later, its retail line in 2011 and trademarks in 2014; Banquet was an earlier acquisition, having been bought from RCA (yes, the electronics company) in 1980. As for Duncan Hines, that was actually a Conagra original, although it took a detour. The brand was initially founded by Nebraska Consolidated Mills (Conagra's precursor) in 1945, who sold it to Procter & Gamble in 1957. In 2018, though, Conagra bought Pinnacle Foods from P&G, a deal which included Duncan Hines. Aren't mergers fun?

So now we know that the money you give to Marie Callender's and Duncan Hines is going to more or less the same place. But what about some of the other frozen food brands you'll find in those supermarket freezers? Who are they owned by? Well, a few of them are owned by Nestlé, which owns a great many popular food brands. Stouffer's, for instance, is owned by the Swiss conglomerate, having originated as an Ohio restaurant chain before diversifying into frozen dinners. Nestlé also owns Lean Cuisine, which was a Stouffer's brand even before its acquisition.

But lest you think Conagra is getting beaten at its own game, you should know it has one of the original TV dinner brands. Yes, indeed, Swanson is a Conagra brand, including brands like Hungry-Man and Kid Cuisine under its umbrella. The Swanson brand proper is mostly sold in Canada these days, though, if you were wondering what happened to them. (The broth and stock part of Swanson is owned by Campbell's.) If you're after something wholesome and family-owned, though, there's always Amy's. The organic frozen food company was founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner (who named the company after their daughter), and remains in the family to this day.