Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-based food company Conagra, which owns Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s frozen seafood products, among other brands, experienced declining frozen and refrigerated sales in its fiscal first quarter of 2025.
Releasing its fiscal Q1 report in early October, the company reported that its overall organic net sales decreased 3.5 percent year over year in the period. Organic net sales within the company’s Refrigerated & Frozen segment decreased 5.7 percent to USD 1.1 billion (EUR 1 billion).
Comparatively, sales in Conagra’s Refrigerated & Frozen segment dropped 3.8 percent to USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter ending 26 May.
Conagra’s sales took a hit mainly due to a temporary manufacturing disruption at its Hebrew National hot dog manufacturing plant during the summer – the key grilling season of the year – the company said.
Hebrew National’s revenue plummeted 47 percent in the fiscal first quarter, accounting for a solid chunk of the Frozen & Refrigerated segment’s losses, Conagra President and CEO Sean Connelly said during a recent investor presentation.
“We estimate that the majority of the impact of this disruption will be isolated to the first quarter,” he said.
Despite the drop in sales for Conagra's Refrigerated & Frozen and Snacks business, 93 percent of the supplier’s frozen and snack brands held or gained volume share during the quarter, demonstrating the “continual improvement of our share performance over the past year and highlighting the effectiveness of our enhanced investments to drive consumer engagement,” Connelly said.
“Importantly, we continue to deliver volume progress and strong share gains while achieving the expected ROI,” he added.
In an attempt to ensure continued ROI, the company has begun promoting less within its Frozen and Snacks segments, according to Connelly.
“We continue to operate in a rational merchandising environment. Conagra remains less reliant on promotions to drive volume, and we continue to maintain a disciplined approach to prioritize the long-term health of our brands,” Connelly said.
In July, Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of retail market research firm 210 Analytics, told SeafoodSource that the same trend is playing out in seafood, too, with the benefits retailers are seeing from promotions continuing to be soft despite their depth and frequency increasing, she said.
"This underscores the importance of targeted promotions to create utmost relevance and impulse conversion,” she said at the time.
