Kraft + Cadbury = Chocolate-Covered Pizza?

MAKER OF DIGIORNO BUYS CHOCOLATE COMPANY

Chocolate covered pizza? Well, that would seem to be the case with the news that Kraft, the maker of the popular DiGiorno frozen pizzas, has acquired Cadbury, the well-known UK-based chocolate company. Kraft already owns a whole slew of meat and cheese products under its various Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands, not to mention all the Nabisco cracker and cookie brands like Oreo.

My guess is that some bright young thing in marketing (they tend to call them “brand managers”) at Kraft Corporate HQ will come up with the brilliant idea of slopping some cheap form of chocolate on your everyday frozen pizza and then get all kinds of kudos from his or her higher ups for “thinking out of the box” and creating a “win-win” situation. They would probably call it DiChoco, or perhaps give a little more panache and brand it “DiChioco.”

But, not to worry food shoppers! Kraft has sold off its entire pizza operation to fund this purchase of England’s beloved chocolate company, so the threat of this pizza-chocolate abomination is stanched. Kraft has sold the frozen pizza business to Nestle, another global food giant, which makes Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s frozen dinners and entrees.

The $3.7 billion deal includes the DiGiorno, Tombstone and Jack’s pizza brands, the California Pizza Kitchen trademark license, manufacturing facilities and other assets. Kraft says it will transfer 3,400 employees to Nestle. Last year the Kraft pizza business generated an estimated $1.6 billion. Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld says proceeds from the pizza business sale was applied to the Cadbury acquisition, which was reported to have cost Kraft $19.6 billion.

Spa Cuisine Packs a Punch with More Fiber

INTRODUCES THREE NEW FLAVORS; RETOOLS FIVE OTHERS

More fiber and great taste? That’s a combination that can’t be beat, and it’s the impetus behind the three new Spa Cuisine flavors from Lean Cuisine. Plus, five existing Spa Cuisine flavors have also been reformulated with more fiber.

Each new and reformulated Spa Cuisine item features 5 grams of fiber with the exception of Apple Cranberry Chicken, which offers 6. “Made with high quality ingredients like natural sea salt and with no preservatives or artificial flavors, each entrée delivers on great taste and nutrition,” says Kristin Gibbs, director of marketing, Lean Cuisine.

Suggested retail price for each item is $3.59. Package sizes range from 8.25 oz. to 9.75 oz.

The new Spa Cuisine items are:

Apple Cranberry Chicken—a combination of grilled chicken in an apple reduction with cranberries, French cut green beans and whole wheat pilaf.

Roasted Honey Chicken—a combination of roasted chicken in a sweet honey sauce with snap peas, yellow beans and whole wheat pilaf.

Thai-Style Noodles with Chicken—roasted chicken, whole wheat noodles, green beans and carrots in a creamy chili peanut sauce.

The new reformulated varieties are:

Chicken Pecan—roasted chicken in a maple bourbon sauce with pecans, currants, veggies and whole wheat orzo; Lemongrass Chicken—roasted chicken in a lemongrass-ginger sauce with baby corn, broccoli and whole wheat vermicelli; Rosemary Chicken—roasted chicken in a lemon-rosemary sauce with carrots, spinach and whole wheat; Lemon Chicken—lightly breaded chicken breasts in a lemon glaze with broccoli, carrots and whole wheat orzo; and Ginger Garlic Stir Fry with Chicken—features white meat chicken with snap peas, whole wheat pasta and ginger garlic sauce.

The Spa Cuisine line also features these eight flavors (also with 5 to 6 grams of fiber in each): Butternut Squash Ravioli, Chicken in Peanut Sauce, Chicken in Mediterranean, Grilled Chicken Primavera, Hunan Stir Fry with Beef, Salmon with Basil, Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken, and Szechuan-Style Stir Fry with Shrimp.

Go to LeanCuisine.com for more information about Spa Cuisine and for access to Lean Cuisine wellness resources.