Pinnacle Foods

What Pinnacle Foods does

Pinnacle Foods was a major U.S. packaged food company that built a portfolio of iconic, multi-generational brands across frozen vegetables and meals, snacks and popcorn, condiments and pickles, baking products, plant-based proteins, smoked meats, and whipped toppings. The portfolio included Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Duncan Hines, Orville Redenbacher's, Vlasic, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Gardein, Glutino, and Duke's, and the company stated that its brands reached more than 85% of American households. Pinnacle ranked as the 4th largest player in the U.S. frozen cooked ready meals category with approximately 22.2% market share, and operated with 5,001-10,000 employees headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The company grew its brand portfolio through a series of acquisitions: Aurora Foods in 2003 (undisclosed), Wish-Bone in 2013 for $575 million, Gardein in 2014 for approximately $154.9 million, and Boulder Brands in 2015 for $975 million. The Boulder and Gardein deals extended the company into gluten-free and plant-based protein categories, while Wish-Bone added branded salad dressings. Pinnacle was publicly traded on the NYSE under ticker PF prior to its acquisition.

In 2018, Conagra Brands acquired Pinnacle Foods for $10.9 billion, adding a 15% increase in U.S. frozen food market share to Conagra. Following the acquisition, Pinnacle's brands were integrated into Conagra's portfolio and the standalone Pinnacle Foods entity no longer operates independently. The combined entity, Conagra Brands (NYSE: CAG), now manages the brand set alongside its legacy portfolio, with continued product-line reinvestment (e.g., Summer 2026 innovations across Healthy Choice, Birds Eye, and Glutino) and a new CEO, John Brase, appointed in 2026 to lead the integrated CPG business.

Name

Pinnacle Foods

Website

http://pinnaclefoods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Pinnacle Foods is a U.S. packaged food company whose portfolio of 13+ brands — including Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Vlasic, and Healthy Choice — reaches more than 85% of American households across frozen, snack, condiment, and baking categories; the company was acquired by Conagra Brands in 2018 for $10.9 billion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Parsippany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

Pinnacle Foods is a diversified consumer packaged foods company that manufactures, markets, and distributes branded frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable food products across categories including frozen vegetables and meals, snacks and popcorn, pickles and condiments, baking products, plant-based proteins, smoked meats, whipped toppings, and gluten-free foods. Its brands — including Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Duncan Hines, Orville Redenbacher's, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Vlasic, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Gardein, Duke's, and Glutino — reach more than 85% of American households. Following its 2018 acquisition by Conagra Brands for $10.9 billion, Pinnacle Foods operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within Conagra's expanded branded food portfolio.

Product overview

Pinnacle Foods operates as a diversified portfolio of iconic frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable food brands following its acquisition by Conagra Brands in 2018. The company offers a multi-brand platform consisting of frozen vegetables and meals (Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's, Banquet), snacks and popcorn (Slim Jim, Orville Redenbacher's, Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP), condiments and pickles (Vlasic), baking products (Duncan Hines), plant-based proteins (Gardein), smoked meats (Duke's), and whipped toppings (Reddi-wip). Many of these brands were part of Conagra's portfolio expansion following the $10.9 billion Pinnacle Foods acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Birds Eye
• Healthy Choice Healthy frozen meal brand featuring chef-created dishes cooked with steam rather than traditional microwave meal trays, targeted at health-conscious U.S. consumers.
• Duncan Hines Baking and dessert brand offering cake mixes, brownies, and single-serve desserts for easy-to-make treats, targeted at U.S. household bakers.
• Orville Redenbacher's Microwave popcorn brand using real butter and non-GMO kernels, marketed as the only leading microwave popcorn brand with no artificial preservatives, flavors, or dyes.
• Marie Callender's Frozen meals and desserts brand originating from the first pie and coffee shop opened in 1964, targeted at U.S. consumers seeking convenient home-style meals.
• Banquet Frozen meal brand featuring the Mega line with supersized portions of favorite foods, targeted at value-oriented U.S. consumers.
• Vlasic Pickle brand with roots as a Polish immigrant family business, offering shelf-stable pickle products to U.S. consumers.
• Slim Jim Beef snack sticks and meat snack food brand marketed for on-the-go protein consumption by U.S. consumers.
• Reddi-wip Whipped topping brand made with real cream (dairy, coconut, or coffee cream) without hydrogenated oils, targeted at U.S. household consumers.
• Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Popcorn brand featuring whole grain, non-GMO popcorn with gluten-free ingredients, targeted at health-conscious U.S. snack consumers.
• Gardein Plant-based protein brand made from ancient grains, vegetables, and non-GMO soy and wheat, designed to deliver meat-like taste and nutrition without cholesterol.
• Duke's Smoked meats brand using small-batch care with whole roasted and diced ingredients and no dried spices or excess sugar, targeted at U.S. consumers seeking premium smoked meats.
• Glutino Gluten-free food brand offering products for consumers with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease, included in the Conagra portfolio following the Pinnacle Foods acquisition.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Conagra BrandscoreOthersConagra Brands acquired Pinnacle Foods in 2018 for $10.9 billion. This acquisition resulted in Conagra gaining a 15% market share increase in the USA frozen food market. Pinnacle Foods became part of Conagra Brands' portfolio of iconic and emerging brands, expanding Conagra's presence in the frozen foods segment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Schwan's Company: Schwan's competes in the US frozen meals and frozen pizza/baked goods categories with brands like Red Baron, Tony's, and Schwan's, overlapping with Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, and Banquet.
• The J.M. Smucker Company: Smucker is a direct competitor in baking mixes, condiments, and frozen handheld categories, with very similar US retail positioning to Pinnacle's Duncan Hines and frozen meals.
• Tyson Foods: Tyson competes directly with Pinnacle in frozen prepared meals, Jimmy Dean, and Hillshire Brands adjacent categories, and is a major supplier of protein to similar retail customers.
• McCain Foods: McCain is a leading global frozen potato and frozen prepared foods producer, directly comparable to Pinnacle's frozen meals and frozen vegetable (Birds Eye) categories.

Broad incumbents

• Unilever: Unilever's Hellmann's, Knorr, and frozen brands compete with Pinnacle's condiments, baking, and frozen meals portfolios across global and US retail channels.
• Kraft Heinz: Kraft Heinz competes in shelf-stable meals, condiments, and frozen categories, with direct overlap against Pinnacle's Wish-Bone, Vlasic, and frozen dinner lines.
• General Mills: General Mills overlaps with Pinnacle in frozen meals, baking mixes (Betty Crocker vs Duncan Hines), snacks, and refrigerated dough, making it a broad-line CPG competitor.
• Conagra Brands: Conagra is the parent company of Pinnacle Foods following the 2018 $10.9B acquisition and operates the most directly overlapping portfolio of frozen, snacks, and shelf-stable food brands in the US.
• Nestlé USA: Nestlé competes with Pinnacle across frozen meals (Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine), snacks, and shelf-stable categories, and is one of the largest global packaged food incumbents.

Emerging players

• BellRing Brands: BellRing operates in convenient, on-the-go nutrition and snacking segments (Premier Protein, Dymatize), overlapping with Slim Jim and the broader portable/snack positioning of Pinnacle's portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pinnaclefoods
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pinnacle-foods-group-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A4 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Pinnacle Foods