Conagra Brands, which operates seafood brands Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Camp’s, has brought on a new supply chain manager.
Erica Carvalho, a former supply chain manager at Dreyer’s Ice Cream, has been hired as the Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-based food manufacturers’ new supply chain manager, according to Meat + Poultry. At Dreyer’s, Carvalho was in charge of logistical and productivity operations management. Previously Carvalho worked at Nestlé for 16 years, working her way up from maintenance planner to cost analyst to continuous improvement supervisor.
Conagra is confronting unprecedented supply chain pressure and high inflation. Nearly a year ago, it announced price increases, and Conagra Brands President and CEO Sean Connelly said recently said he expected inflation to continue to impact the company.
“As the fourth quarter unfolded, input cost inflation accelerated and we now expect fiscal 2022 input cost inflation to be materially higher than we anticipated at the end of fiscal Q3,” Connelly said in a press release. “In response, we have further enhanced the aggressive and comprehensive action plan already being executed, which includes broad-based pricing.”
Conagra is expecting it may have to increase prices for almost all of its food products, both within retail and foodservice, given ongoing inflation, according to Conagra Brands Manager of Corporate Communications Tim Wronga.
Wronga declined to comment on how the price increases will impact specific Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s, but he said the company’s move “is not just a blanket increase on all products, but instead is a strategic approach to evaluating and pricing our products that is mindful of competitive pricing.”
Carvalho's hiring follows that of Alexandre “Ale” Eboli, who was named executive vice president and chief supply chain officer at Conagra in May 2021.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
