Frozen Foods

In advance of the prime Lenten seafood selling season, two of the nation’s leading retailers have set a new sourcing course for the seafood they sell in their stores.

ConAgra Foods’ largest brand, Banquet, has introduced the “Thanks a Million” promotion to offer its loyal customers some financial relief during a difficult economy.

The vast majority of U.S. households — 9 out of 10 — will root for their preferred Super Bowl team in their own homes or those of friends or relatives, rather than at a restaurant or bar, a survey by The Nielsen Company has found.

As football fans across America ready themselves for game day on Feb. 7, Ruiz Foods, Inc. will roll out a full-page FSI brand-awareness promotion targeting Super Bowl XLIV.

To help maximize shopper savings, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Inc. has introduced a series of weekly shopping guides offering in-store advertised specials, money-saving coupons and extra values that are unavailable elsewhere.

Supervalu banner Farm Fresh has launched “nutrition iQ,” a nutrition information program designed to help consumers make more informed food choices at the grocery store shelf, in all 45 of its stores, which are located in Hampton Roads and Richmond, Va., and Elizabeth City, N.C.

U.S.-based store brands are benefiting big time from the current economic downturn. As consumers continue to turn to better prices and value, retailers have clearly stepped up their game by enhancing their brands’ overall product quality and by adding strong marketing muscle behind store-brand initiatives.

The U.S. market for ice cream and related frozen desserts, including frozen yogurt and frozen novelties, grew 2 percent to $25 billion in 2009, in spite of a recession that adversely affected frozen dessert sales, according to “Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts in the U.S.: Markets and Opportunities in Retail and Foodservice, 6th Edition,” a report from New York-based market research publisher Packaged Facts.