![]() 1959 magazine ad for the product. | |
Chun King |
Chun King was an American brand of canned Chinese food products founded in the 1940s by Jeno Paulucci, whose company also developed Jeno's Pizza Rolls and frozen pizza, and the Michelina's brand of frozen food products, among many others. [1] By 1962, Chun King was bringing in $30 million in annual revenue and accounted for half of all U.S. sales of prepared Chinese food. In 1966, it was sold to the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for $63 million. [1]
R. J. Reynolds merged with Nabisco Brands in 1985 and the new company changed its name to RJR Nabisco the following year. In 1989, Chun King was sold to Yeo Hiap Seng of Singapore to help pay for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. [2] RJR Nabisco had previously sold the Chun King line of frozen foods to ConAgra Foods in 1986. After losing market share, Yeo Hiap Seng sold Chun King in 1995 to Hunt-Wesson, owner of rival La Choy. [3] [4] Hunt-Wesson's parent, ConAgra, eventually closed Chun King's manufacturing facilities in 1995 and discontinued the brand. [5] [6]
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded by namesake R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the largest tobacco company in the United States. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco.
Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Chow mein is a dish of Chinese stir-fried noodles with vegetables and sometimes meat or tofu. Over the centuries, variations of chǎomiàn were developed in many regions of China; there are several methods of frying the noodles and a range of toppings can be used. It was introduced in other countries by Chinese immigrants. The dish is popular throughout the Chinese diaspora and appears on the menus of most Chinese restaurants abroad. It is particularly popular in India, Nepal, the UK, and the US.
R. J. Reynolds Nabisco, Inc., doing business as RJR Nabisco, was an American conglomerate, selling tobacco and food products, headquartered in the Calyon Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. R. J. Reynolds Nabisco stopped operating as a single entity in 1999. Both RJR and Nabisco still exist.
Conagra Brands, Inc. is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, and food service establishments. Based on its 2021 revenue, the company ranked 331st on the 2022 Fortune 500.
Butterfinger is a candy bar manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. It is manufactured internationally by Nestlé. It consists of a layered crisp peanut butter core covered in a "chocolatey" coating. It was invented by Otto Schnering of the Curtiss Candy Company in 1923. A popularity contest chose the name.
Totino's and Jeno's are brands of frozen pizza products owned by General Mills.
Yeo Hiap Seng Limited is a Singaporean beverage company. It operates as an investment holding company as well as a drink manufacturer in Singapore and Malaysia. It is a multinational corporation that has offices and market presence in the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Pacific Islands, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Some of its house brands include H-Two-O, Yeo's Asian Beverages, Justea, and Pink Dolphin.
Hunt's is a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby Santa Rosa in 1890, and then to Hayward in 1895. This small canning operation grew rapidly, focused on canning the products of California's booming fruit and vegetable industries. By 1941, the plant shipped a hundred million cans of soup, fruits, vegetables, and juices annually.
Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food conglomerate founded in 1894. One of the best-known food processing companies in the U.S., Beatrice owned many well-known brands such as Tropicana, Krispy Kreme, Jolly Rancher, Orville Redenbacher's, Swiss Miss, Peter Pan, Avis, Milk Duds, Samsonite, Playtex, La Choy and Dannon.
Egg Beaters is a product marketed in the United States as a healthy substitute for whole eggs. It is a substitute for whole/fresh eggs that contains less cholesterol, but it is not an egg substitute. Egg Beaters is primarily egg whites with added flavorings, vitamins, and thickeners xanthan gum and guar gum. It contains real egg whites, but no egg yolks.
Wesson cooking oil is an American brand of vegetable oil manufactured in Memphis, Tennessee, and sold by Richardson International. Historically, Wesson was cottonseed oil, but as of 2009 the products sold under the Wesson brand are oil mixtures that may include canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil or sunflower oil.
Del Monte Foods Inc. is an American food production and distribution company and subsidiary of NutriAsia, headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded processed food for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $1.73 billion of annual sales. Its portfolio of brands includes Del Monte, S&W, Contadina, College Inn, Kitchen Basics, Joyba, and Take Root. Greg Longstreet is the current Chief Executive Officer of Del Monte Foods. Several Del Monte products hold the number one or two market share position. The company also produces, distributes and markets private-label food.
Bellisio Foods Incorporated is an American frozen food manufacturer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was founded by Jeno Paulucci in Duluth, Minnesota, and is now owned by Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited of Thailand. Its products are primarily sold in the United States and are also distributed in more than 12 countries, including Canada, Australia, Russia and China. As the third-largest producer of frozen entrees in the United States the company has a daily production capacity of over two million meals.
Pizza snack rolls are a frozen food product consisting of bite-sized breaded pizza pockets with an interior of tomato sauce, imitation cheese, and various pizza toppings. They are sold in a variety of flavors including cheese, pepperoni, sausage, supreme, multiple imitation cheeses, and mixed meats. Other flavors included hamburger, cheeseburger, ham and cheese, and combination. Pizza snack rolls are designed to be quickly cooked in the oven or microwave. The name "pizza rolls" is a trademark of General Mills, current owner of the original product.
Morton Frozen Foods is the brand name of a now-discontinued line of frozen foods, including honey buns, jelly donuts, and pot pies, that was distributed nationwide in the United States for almost 50 years. It was ultimately acquired by ConAgra Foods.
Luigino "Jeno" Francesco Paulucci was an American food industry magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Paulucci started over 70 companies; his most well-known ventures included the frozen food company Bellisio Foods as well as food products such as pizza rolls and the Chun King line of Chinese foods.
Tauco, Taucu, Taotjo, Tao Jiew or Tauchu is a paste made from preserved fermented yellow soybeans in Chinese Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai cuisines. Tauco is made by boiling yellow soybeans, grinding them, mixing them with flour, and fermenting them to make a soy paste. The soy paste is soaked in salt water and sun-dried for several weeks, furthering the fermentation process, until the color of the paste has turned yellow-reddish. Good tauco has a distinct aroma. The sauce is also commonly used in other Indonesian cuisine traditions, such as Sundanese cuisine and Javanese cuisine. Taucu is generally used in cooking by Chinese Malaysians, Singaporeans, Bruneians, and Thais.
La Choy is a brand name of canned and prepackaged American Chinese food ingredients. The brand was purchased in 1990 from Beatrice Foods by ConAgra Foods during the LBO firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' dismantling of the company and is still currently a property of ConAgra.