Kangaroo Brands is an American food manufacturing company specializing in frozen breakfast sandwiches. It is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kangaroo Breads and Sandwich Bros. are two brands that stemmed from Kangaroo Brands.
Brothers John and George Kashou founded Kangaroo Brands in 1979 to create a bread alternative which was patented in 2004 as Pita Pocket Bread. [1] Kangaroo distributes to retailers nationwide.
A US patent for "Omelet in a pita pocket bread" was granted to George Kashou in 2010. [2] A Canadian patent was also granted in 2010. [3]
In 2005, Kangaroo Brands launched a pita chip division. The pita chip division was sold to ConAgra Brands in 2012.
Also in 2005, George Kashou teamed up with Froedtert and Community Health and wrote the first edition of The Pocket Diet book with co-author Caitlyn Lorenze. [4]
Salem Kashou became President of Kangaroo Brands in 2016. [5]
On December 21, 2017, ConAgra Brands announced plans to acquire Sandwich Bros. of Wisconsin, a Milwaukee-based maker of frozen flatbread sandwiches. The deal was expected to close in early 2018, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed. [6]
On February 5, 2018, ConAgra Brands completed the acquisition of Sandwich Bros. of Wisconsin. [7]
The Sandwich Bros plant was sold for $87 million. [8] On April 2, 2021, ConAgra Brands closed the Kangaroo/Sandwich Bros. plant in Milwaukee, eliminating 190 jobs. [9]
Pita or pitta is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also known as Arabic bread. In the United Kingdom, Greek bread is used for pocket versions such as the Greek pita, and are used for barbecues as a souvlaki wrap. The Western name pita may sometimes be used to refer to various other types of flatbreads that have different names in their local languages, such as numerous styles of Arab khubz (bread).
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major business units: consumer foods, pet foods, and coffee. Its flagship brand, Smucker's, produces fruit preserves, peanut butter, syrups, frozen crustless sandwiches, and ice cream toppings.
An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of ice cream between two biscuits, wafers, soft cookies, or other baked goods. The ingredients are different around the world, with Ireland using wafers and the United States commonly using cookies.
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.
Slim Jim is an American meat snack brand sold globally and manufactured by Conagra Brands. Slim Jim snacks are widely available and popular in the United States, generating $575 million in revenue in 2015. About 1 billion Slim Jim snacks are produced annually in at least 21 varieties.
A sealed crustless sandwich consists of a filling between two layers of crimp-sealed bread, with the crust removed.
Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1863, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most important business and had helped make Chicago and its Union Stock Yards the center of America's meatpacking industry. During the same period, its facility in Omaha, Nebraska, boomed, making the city's meatpacking industry the largest in the nation by 1959. In connection with its meatpacking operations, the company also ventured into pharmaceuticals and soap manufacturing, introducing Dial soap in 1948.
Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods founded in the United States and now owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia.
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.
J&J Snack Foods Corp. (JJSFC) is an American manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of name brand snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Mt. Laurel, NJ, JJSF uses over 175 facilities for manufacturing, warehousing, and distributing located in 44 states, Mexico, and Canada. The company is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as "JJSFC", and serves both national and international markets.
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.
Pinnacle Foods, Inc., is a packaged foods company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, that specializes in shelf-stable and frozen foods. The company became a subsidiary of Conagra Brands on October 26, 2018.
Tip Top Bakeries is an Australian manufacturer of bread products owned by George Weston Foods, a subsidiary of multinational food giant Associated British Foods.
The cuisine of Omaha reflects the heritage and culture of Omaha, Nebraska.
Ralcorp Holdings is an American manufacturer of various food products, including breakfast cereal, cookies, crackers, chocolate, snack foods, mayonnaise, pasta, and peanut butter. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The majority of the items Ralcorp makes are private-label, store-brand products. It has over 9,000 employees. Ralcorp has its headquarters in the Bank of America Plaza in downtown St. Louis.
Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakeries was a brand of breads and assorted pastry products, frozen fish entrees, and prepared dinners formerly owned by General Baking. Established by one of the founders of both Los Angeles' iconic Tam O'Shanter Inn and the Lawry's restaurant chain and seasoned salt empire, it went bankrupt in 1990.
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Stacy's Pita Chips is an American brand of snack products based in Randolph, Massachusetts, specializing in various flavors of pita chips. Pita chips are slices of pita bread which are baked until crunchy. They are commonly eaten as a snack and come in a variety of flavors including Simply Naked, Cinnamon Sugar, and Garlic Parmesan among others. Stacy's also makes other crunchy snacks such as Pita Thins, Cheese Petites, and Bagel Chips.