CJ CheilJedang. Diversified parent company CJ CheilJedang reported earnings of about $26.6 billion (KRW 24.2 billion) in fiscal 2020. The company finalized its acquisition of Schwan’s Co. in 2019, thereby squarely placing the company at the No. 6 spot on the SF&WB Top 50 list. CJ CheilJedang adds significant frozen brand assets brought by the Schwan’s acquisition, including Red Baron, Freschetta, and Tony’s in frozen pizza; Mrs. Smith’s and Edwards in frozen desserts; and Pagoda in frozen appetizers. These complement CJ CheilJedang’s Bibigo frozen appetizer brand. According to the SF&WB State of the Industry, Schwan’s has seen very strong growth in both its frozen pizza and frozen snacks and appetizers segments, currently contributing U.S. sales of $1.3 billion with very positive year-over-year growth.
Grupo Bimbo. The world’s largest bakery company, Grupo Bimbo, moved up two spots in the Top 50 rankings, catapulted by record sales growth of 13.4 percent in net sales, as noted by Daniel Servitje, chairman of the board and CEO, in the company’s 2020 annual report. Total company sales grew to around $16.0 billion (MXN 331.1 billion). He noted profits outside of Mexico were particularly strong. Dedicated work toward route optimization has also improved distribution efficiency, while production continues to benefit from ongoing robot process automation and virtual training capabilities.
Ferrero Group. European confectionery company Ferrero moved up a spot in the SF&WB Top 50 in the wake of a strong performance during fiscal 2020. Ferrero continues to capably leverage the strength of its Nutella brand in the snack market, with its Nutella & Go line approaching the $100 million mark in U.S. sales, as noted in the SF&WB State of the Industry. The brand even managed a strong performance, with a strong 18.5 percent sales growth, during the pandemic in a category that otherwise saw a notable downturn as on-the-go sales of products like crackers with fillings declined.
Additional Top 50 highlights: