Chun King was an American brand of canned
Chinese food
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...
products founded in the 1940s by
Jeno Paulucci, who also developed ''Jeno's
Pizza Rolls
Pizza snack rolls (also called pizza rolls, pizza bites, pizza snacks, or pizza poppers) are a frozen food product consisting of bite-sized breaded pizza pockets with an interior of tomato sauce, imitation cheese and various pizza toppings. They ...
'' and
frozen pizza, and the ''
Michelina's
Bellisio Foods Incorporated (formerly Michelina's) is an American frozen food manufacturer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was founded by Jeno Paulucci in Duluth, Minnesota and is now owned by Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Lim ...
'' brand of frozen food products, among many others.
By 1962, Chun King was bringing in $30 million in annual revenue and accounted for half of all U.S. sales of prepared Chinese food. In 1966, it was sold to the
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for $63 million.
R. J. Reynolds merged with
Nabisco Brands
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco ...
in 1985 and the new company changed its name to
RJR Nabisco the following year. In 1989, Chun King was sold to
Yeo Hiap Seng
Yeo Hiap Seng Limited (, Commonly known as Yeo's) is a Singaporean beverage company. It operates as an investment holding company as well as a drink manufacturer in Singapore and Malaysia. It is a multinational corporation that has offices and m ...
of Singapore to help pay for
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. RJR Nabisco had previously sold the Chun King line of frozen foods to
ConAgra Foods
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restauran ...
in 1986. After losing market share, Yeo Hiap Seng sold Chun King in 1995 to
Hunt-Wesson
Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby Sa ...
, owner of rival
La Choy
La Choy (stylized La Choy 東) is a brand name of canned and prepackaged American Chinese food ingredients. The brand was purchased in 1990 from Beatrice Foods by ConAgra Foods during the LBO firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' dismantling of the comp ...
. Hunt-Wesson's parent,
ConAgra
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restauran ...
, eventually closed Chun King's manufacturing facilities and discontinued the brand.
For the commercial production of egg rolls, Paulucci used a co-extrusion process developed by
Demaco using a
Demaco extruder
The Demaco extruder is a pasta extruder built by Demaco in West Melbourne, Florida, United States. It is the first pasta extruder ever built for USDA sanitary food plants. Its design allowed food producers to use an extruder directly in fresh, fr ...
.
See also
*
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...
*
La Choy
La Choy (stylized La Choy 東) is a brand name of canned and prepackaged American Chinese food ingredients. The brand was purchased in 1990 from Beatrice Foods by ConAgra Foods during the LBO firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' dismantling of the comp ...
*
American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine is a cuisine derived from Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese Americans. The dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are adapted to American tastes and often differ significantly from tho ...
References
American Chinese cuisine
Defunct brands
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