One of America’s longest-running frozen pizza brands is disappearing from freezer aisles. Conagra Brands has stopped producing Celeste pizza, the brand known for the smiling face of “Mama” Celeste on its boxes.
Conagra announced the move in a recent earnings report, saying: “One early example is our decision to exit the Celeste frozen pizza business.”
Already hard to find
Some shoppers may have noticed the pizzas vanishing before the news broke. Walmart listed the product as out of stock on October 3. Remaining inventory will stay on shelves until it is gone.
Why Conagra is dropping it
The decision is part of a broader clean-up of Conagra’s product range following a leadership change. Chief executive John Brase said there were “certain brands and categories where we simply just don’t see a future,” and that exiting lower-profit brands quickly made sense.
Brase pointed to the company’s sprawling range of single-serve meals as an example of the complexity it wants to cut. “We have over 400 single-serve meal [stock-keeping units],” he said. Conagra plans to put more money behind products such as meat sticks and Boomchickapop popcorn.
Chief financial officer Dave Marberger also cited rising transport costs from driver shortages and higher oil prices, and said the company plans price increases on some products.
Fans react
The news drew a wave of nostalgia online. “I grew up on these,” one Reddit user wrote, while others said the quality had slipped over the years and called for a return to the original recipe.
The brand traces its roots to a Chicago restaurant that Celeste Lizio and her husband opened in 1937.
Further reading
Image: Frozen pizza by Amin, BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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