What Hungry Jack does

Hungry Jack is a U.S. consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand specializing in breakfast and convenience food products. The brand produces and sells pancake and waffle mixes (across Complete just-add-water, Easy Pack single-serve, and Traditional varieties), microwaveable syrups (Original, Butter, Lite, Zero Sugar Butter), frozen pancakes, and — most recently — skillet meals (Cheeseburger Mac, Beef Pasta). Its notable proprietary feature is the reheatable microwaveable syrup bottle with an easy-pour cap and hot indicator, introduced in 1994 and positioned as unique among leading national syrup brands.

The brand was established in 1967 with the launch of Hungry Jack mashed potatoes and has been feeding families for nearly 60 years. It is currently owned and operated by Hometown Food Company, with corporate contact information pointing to a Chicago, IL address (500 W. Madison Street). Hungry Jack potato products were transitioned to Basic American Foods under a licensing agreement in 2024, allowing the brand to focus on its breakfast and skillet meal portfolio. The brand has 251-500 employees and operates without dedicated app, API, or AI-driven surfaces.

Hungry Jack generates revenue through one-time retail purchases of physical CPG products sold exclusively through U.S. grocery retail channels — major supermarket chains, local grocery stores, and in-store promotions. Pricing is set at the retailer level and not publicly disclosed. Distribution relies on standard CPG retail networks supplemented by a website store locator, coupon programs via RedPlum and Coupons.com, and an active Facebook presence for recipe-driven content marketing. End customers are U.S. household consumers and families seeking convenient breakfast and weeknight meal solutions.

Name

Hungry Jack

Legal name

Hungry Jack (brand owned by Hometown Food Company)

Website

https://hungryjack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Hungry Jack is a U.S. consumer packaged goods brand producing pancake and waffle mixes, microwaveable syrups, frozen pancakes, and skillet meals, sold exclusively through grocery retail. The brand is owned by Hometown Food Company and serves household consumers seeking convenient breakfast and weeknight meal solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Breakfast Foods (Consumer Packaged Goods)

NAICS

Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118), Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Breakfast Foods & Cereals (Cereal, Granola, Oatmeal) (CRADAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refrigerated & Frozen Doughs and Batters Manufacturing (AFAKACAM), Frozen Breakfast Foods (CRADADAC)

Keywords

• Pancake mixes
• Waffle mixes
• Breakfast syrups
• Frozen pancakes
• Skillet meals

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pancake and Waffle Mixes: Hungry Jack produces and sells various pancake and waffle mix varieties including Complete Buttermilk, Complete Belgian Waffle, Complete Chocolate Chip, Complete Extra Light & Fluffy, Traditional Buttermilk, Traditional Original, Traditional Extra Light & Fluffy, and Easy Pack varieties. These are sold as one-time consumer purchases through grocery retail.
2. Microwaveable Syrups: Syrup products sold in innovative microwaveable bottles with easy-pour caps. Varieties include Original, Butter, Lite, and Zero Sugar Butter. Sold as one-time retail purchases.
3. Frozen Pancakes: Pre-made frozen pancake products including Frozen Buttermilk Pancakes and Frozen Buttermilk Mini Pancakes, sold at retail for quick breakfast preparation.
4. Skillet Meals: Convenience food products including Cheeseburger Mac Skillet Meal and Beef Pasta Skillet Meal, sold at retail for easy weeknight meal preparation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hungry Jack produces and sells pancake and waffle mixes, microwaveable syrups, frozen pancakes, and skillet meals for household consumers. The brand's signature innovation is the microwaveable syrup bottle with an easy-pour cap introduced in 1994, which remains unique among leading national syrup brands. Products are manufactured and distributed through grocery retail and supermarket channels across the United States, with no direct-to-consumer online sales model.

Product overview

Hungry Jack is a breakfast and convenience food brand offering a diversified portfolio of pancake and waffle mixes, syrups, frozen pancakes, and skillet meals. The product line includes four microwaveable syrup varieties (Original, Butter, Lite, and Zero Sugar Butter) and multiple pancake/waffle mix categories: Complete just-add-water mixes (Belgian Waffle, Buttermilk, Chocolate Chip, Extra Light & Fluffy), Easy Pack single-batch mixes (Buttermilk, Chocolate Chip), and Traditional mixes requiring milk, oil, and eggs (Buttermilk, Extra Light & Fluffy, Original). Frozen products include Buttermilk Pancakes and Buttermilk Mini Pancakes. The newest line extension is Skillet Meals featuring Cheeseburger Mac and Beef Pasta varieties. The brand's key differentiator is the microwaveable syrup bottle innovation from 1994.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hungry Jack: Breakfast food brand offering pancake mixes, waffle mixes, syrups, frozen pancakes, and skillet meals

Products and services

• Original Syrup Original thick and delicious microwaveable syrup with an easy-pour cap, designed to be heated in the microwave. Targeted at household consumers for breakfast preparation.
• Butter Syrup Butter-flavored microwaveable syrup with a hot indicator and easy-pour cap, designed for household consumers seeking butter-flavored syrup for breakfast.
• Lite Syrup Microwaveable syrup with half the calories of the Original Syrup, featuring a hot indicator and easy-pour cap. Designed for calorie-conscious household consumers.
• Zero Sugar Butter Syrup Sugar-free, low-calorie butter-flavored syrup in a microwaveable bottle with a hot indicator and easy-pour cap. Targeted at health-conscious consumers.
• Complete Belgian Waffle Mix Just-add-water waffle mix producing golden brown waffles with a light-textured and fluffy interior. Targeted at household consumers seeking easy waffle preparation.
• Complete Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix Complete just-add-water mix with classic buttermilk flavor, hearty texture, and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. For household consumers.
• Complete Chocolate Chip Pancake & Waffle Mix Just-add-water mix containing real chocolate chips with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. For family-friendly breakfast preparation.
• Complete Extra Light & Fluffy Pancake & Waffle Mix Just-add-water mix offering extra light and fluffy texture with hearty flavor and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
• Easy Pack Buttermilk Pancake Mix Single-batch buttermilk pancake mix in convenient packaging with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Targeted at small households or single-batch use.
• Easy Pack Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix Easy Pack pancake mix containing real chocolate chips with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Single-batch convenient packaging.
• Traditional Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix Traditional pancake mix requiring milk, oil, and eggs for a classic buttermilk flavor. For households preferring traditional preparation methods.
• Traditional Extra Light & Fluffy Pancake & Waffle Mix Traditional pancake mix requiring milk, oil, and eggs for an extra light and fluffy texture. For households preferring traditional preparation methods.
• Traditional Original Pancake & Waffle Mix Traditional original-recipe pancake mix requiring milk, oil, and eggs for a real, traditional pancake taste. For households preferring traditional preparation methods.
• Frozen Buttermilk Pancakes Pre-made frozen pancakes that can be heated in the microwave for a fast breakfast with soft edges and fluffy center. For time-constrained household consumers.
• Frozen Buttermilk Mini Pancakes Pre-made frozen mini pancakes that can be heated quickly for a fast breakfast treat. For families and households seeking quick breakfast options.
• Cheeseburger Mac Skillet Meal Comforting and easy-to-prepare weekday skillet meal with cheeseburger macaroni that can be customized with meat or protein of choice. Targeted at convenience-seeking consumers.
• Beef Pasta Skillet Meal Comforting and easy-to-prepare weekday skillet meal with beef and pasta, customizable with additional meat or protein. Targeted at convenience-seeking consumers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Basic American FoodsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerHungry Jack potato products are manufactured and distributed by Basic American Foods under a licensing agreement. The J.M. Smucker Company previously owned these products. Product-related questions for potato items should be directed to Basic American Foods at 1-800-722-2084.
• Hometown Food CompanycoreOthersHungry Jack is owned and operated by the Hometown Food Company. The company website privacy policy, terms of use, and other corporate policies are hosted under the hometownfoodcompany.com domain.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Kodiak Cakes: A fast-growing better-for-you pancake and baking mix brand emphasizing whole grains and protein content, competing with Hungry Jack for the same health-conscious breakfast shopper but with a premium positioning.
• Bob Evans: Post Holdings-owned refrigerated and frozen breakfast brand with overlap in frozen pancakes/sausage category, targeting the same convenient breakfast occasions as Hungry Jack's frozen line.

Direct peers

• Krusteaz: Continental Mills' Krusteaz brand offers pancake, waffle, and baking mixes with similar just-add-water convenience positioning, competing head-to-head with Hungry Jack's Complete line.
• Hamburger Helper (General Mills): General Mills' iconic skillet meal brand competing directly with Hungry Jack's newly launched Cheeseburger Mac and Beef Pasta Skillet Meals in the dry pasta meal aisle.
• Bisquick (General Mills): General Mills' flagship pancake and baking mix brand, directly competing with Hungry Jack Complete and Traditional mix SKUs in the same US grocery aisle with comparable formulations.
• Mrs. Butterworth's: TreeHouse Foods' table syrup brand competing directly with Hungry Jack's microwaveable syrup line in the US grocery syrup set.
• Pearl Milling Company (formerly Aunt Jemima): Owned by PepsiCo (via Quaker Oats), Pearl Milling Company is the closest direct competitor to Hungry Jack in pancake mixes and syrups with comparable national grocery distribution and shelf presence.
• Eggo (Kellogg's): Kellogg's frozen breakfast brand competing directly with Hungry Jack's frozen buttermilk pancakes and mini pancakes in the US frozen breakfast aisle.
• Log Cabin Syrup: TreeHouse Foods' mass-market table syrup brand directly competing with Hungry Jack Original, Butter, and Lite syrup SKUs in US grocery retail.

Broad incumbents

• Pillsbury: General Mills' broader baking mix, refrigerated dough, and breakfast brand portfolio that overlaps with Hungry Jack's pancake mix range and was previously part of the Hometown Food Company portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hungryjack
• Xx.com/hungryjack

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hungry Jack