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Hot Pockets is an American brand of microwaveable turnovers generally containing one or more types of cheese, meat, or vegetables. Hot Pockets was founded by the Chef America Inc. Since April 20, 2002, they have been produced by
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...
.


History

Hot Pockets were developed by
Paul Merage Paul Merage (born 1943) is an American billionaire businessman who co-founded Chef America Inc., the company that popularized the microwavable frozen snack Hot Pockets. In 2015, his net worth was estimated at $1.8 billion. Biography Merage was ...
and his brother David through their company Chef America Inc. Chef America invented a packaging sleeve and dough formula to keep its calzone-like sandwiches crispy when cooked in a
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency rang ...
. In 1980, Chef America introduced its first stuffed sandwich, the Tastywich, the predecessor of the Hot Pocket. Hot Pockets supplanted Tastywiches in 1983, first sold to restaurants because they were easier to break into than retail stores. On May 22, 2002, Chef America was sold to Nestlé. Hot Pocket products were "a $2 billion category of frozen sandwiches and snacks". Breakfast-style Hot Pockets were introduced in 2001.


Product

There are 50 varieties of the traditional Hot Pocket, including breakfast, lunch and dinner varieties. Nestlé also offers Lean Pockets, Pretzel Bread Hot Pockets, Hot Pockets Croissant Crust (formerly called Croissant Pockets), Hot Pockets Breakfast items, Hot Pockets Breakfast/Snack Bites and Hot Pockets Side shots. Nestlé formerly produced Hot Pie Express, Hot Pocket Pizza Minis (originally called Hot Pockets Pizza Snacks), Hot Pockets Subs, Hot Pockets Calzones, Hot Pockets Panini and Hot Pockets Breakfast fruit pastries. Hot Pockets are viewed as "an after school staple". Individual Hot Pockets contain about 350 calories.


Sales

Citing reduced sales, in 2011 Nestlé announced that it would cut employee numbers at its California factory. U.S. sales were about $610 million in 2010—down $44 million from the previous year—according to Euromonitor International data. Paul Grimwood took over Nestlé SA's struggling U.S operations in 2011. In an attempt to bolster the failing brand by improving supply chain, Grimwood made the decision to drop the calzone version of Hot Pockets and the quesadillas Lean Pockets, reducing the number of doughs needed. Nestlé executive Chris Johnson points to an end of extended SNAP benefits in 2013 as the cause of the fallen sales, stating SNAP benefit recipients are "a big part of the consumption of this particular product."


Comedic references

*Comedian
Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...
is well known for his material poking fun at Hot Pockets. This material is so popular among fans that he is regularly offered Hot Pockets while on tour. Nestlé confirms that they had no influence with this stand-up comedy. *In a 2015 installment of the comic strip ''
Wizard of Id ''The Wizard of Id'' is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 16, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id" ...
'', the
Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
employed a
trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...
Hot Pocket in their perpetual war against the Kingdom of Id, with the intention of causing them to kill themselves slowly. *Actor
DJ Qualls Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in films including ''Road Trip'' (2000), '' The New Guy'' (2002) and ''The Core'' (2003), and for several appearances on television series such as ''B ...
plays a hacker in the 2003 science fiction film ''
The Core ''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The fi ...
'' who subsists solely on the microwaveable snack.


Product recalls


2014: contaminated meat

In 2014, Nestle USA recalled 238,000 cases of its Hot Pockets because they may have contained meat from a massive recall of about of meat from "diseased and unsound" animals. Nestle stated that "a small quantity of meat" from the Rancho Feeding Corp was used to make Hot Pockets. The USDA described the food as "unfit for humans". This Rancho Feeding Corp meat recall was based out of a production facility in California, but the recalled Hot Pockets were distributed nationwide. The two types of Hot Pockets involved in the recall were the Philly Steak and Cheese and the Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese. A full federal inspection was not performed, and there were no illnesses reported in connection to this recall. Customers who bought the recalled products were refunded by contacting Nestle Consumer Service.


2020–2021: glass and plastic fragments

In January 2021, some batches of Hot Pockets produced during November 13–16, 2020, were found to contain pieces of glass or hard plastic, posing a choking and laceration risk. The USDA issued a Class I recall, because "use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death." Affected products include ''Premium Pepperoni Made With Pork'', and ''Chicken & Beef Pizza with a Garlic Buttery Crust''.


See also

*
Burrito A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or steamed ...
* Calzone *
List of frozen food brands This is a list of frozen food brands. Frozen food is food that is frozen from the time it is produced to the time it is either defrosted or cooked by the consumer, or eaten while still frozen. Frozen food brands * Amy's Kitchen * Aunt ...
*
Pasty A pasty () is a British baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, South West England, but has spread all over the British Isles. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegeta ...
*
Pizza Pops Pizza Pops are a Canadian calzone-type snack produced by Pillsbury. Pizza Pops are sold both pre-cooked and frozen. Typically, they can be reheated in a microwave oven. However, they may also be cooked in a conventional oven. History Pizz ...
* Pizza rolls *
Pocket sandwich Pocket sandwich is a sandwich which is made using a single piece of folded or hollowed bread, such as a pita, which is made from dough cooked with fillings inside. Types of pocket sandwiches * Hot Pockets * Fougasse * Calzone * Stromboli * Pita ...


References


External links

* {{Nestlé Products introduced in 1983 Frozen food brands Nestlé brands