Canada, too, has bowl-ing boom but pizza, burgers also on a roll; just like their Yankee...

Acquisitions proved to be the biggest story in Canada's frozen food industry in 2001.

Last January, ConAgra, North America's leading frozen food company, acquired Montreal-based frozen food manufacturer Artel Inc. In October, General Mills Canada

Business Credit Solutions

• Get a Credit Report
• Get a D&B D-U-N-S Number
• Monitor My Business Credit - FREE TRIAL!

Business Credit Advice

• Business Credit Basics
• Build My Business Credit
• Extend Credit to Customers
• Use My Credit to Get Loans

On the other hand, Vlasic Foods' American parent company filed for Chapter 11 and sold its Canadian branch. The Canadian manufacturer of Swanson's products [which had been made by Campbell Soup Company until 1998] now operates under the name Pinnacle General Food Canada Corporation.

"Our Canadian business remains strong," said Pinnacle vice president and general manager Andrew Salisbury. "We do $50 million (Canadian) a year in turnover with a five-person staff."

Salisbury described the frozen food industry as "a great business to be in." Although growth is slowing, he reported, frozen food remains the third largest category of products on grocery store shelves -- and the hottest sellers in the category, now are bowls.

"Bowls are where it's at at the moment in Canada," Salisbury observed. "That should be no surprise considering that bowls now make up 10% of the USA market. We're just starting to catch up here in Canada."

Artel -- now known as ConAgra Frozen Foods -- was first off the mark last autumn in the bowl sweepstakes with its Healthy Choice Bowls selection of Chicken Teriyaki, Chicken Alfredo, Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice, Roasted Red Pepper Chicken and Potatoes, Shrimp and Vegetables, and Roasted Potatoes and Ham.

"Our bowls are low in fat and sodium for people with health or cholesterol concerns," commented ConAgra spokesperson Lise Roy. "They have been received very well. We are developing two new flavors."

Swanson's entries in the category are its new Hardy Bowls -- Chicken Stir Fry, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Teriyaki, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Four Cheese Lasagna -- which Salisbury described as a "credible alternative" to Healthy Choice. "In terms of taste, our bowls are ahead of the competition," he insisted. "Consumers want good tasting food. They also want larger quantities. We sell bowls in 300g packages rather than the usual 200g to 260g sizes."

Consumers also seem to want more hand-held products, added Salisbury, including products such as J.M. Schneiders' new hot-selling Hot Stuff which was introduced last June. "It was the biggest launch the company has had in a long time," said a J.M. Schneiders spokesperson. "Hot Stuff is bigger than Pizza Pops and Pizza Pockets."