The Coronavirus Has Made More Consumers Add Chef Boyardee To Their Pantries

With a nation under quarantine, many consumers are opting for packaged foods to keep in the house in order to not make many trips to the grocery store. One item includes Chef Boyardee.

“What we saw was right around mid-March, the consumption just skyrocketed. In some cases it went over 100%. What was happening there is you had consumers really starting to realize this was going to be a protracted situation in stocking their pantries, freezers and refrigerators,” Conagra Brands CEO Sean Connolly said this week on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.

It was late last month that Conagra Brands told investors on earnings day that retail sales increased 47.4% for the four weeks ended March 22. For Conagra’s current quarter, it expects product shipments to be up about 50% from a year ago.

Strong demand continues but at a lower pace now.

“So it has come down off that peak a bit. Last week we met with investors and published an 8-k with one week of data and I think that was through March 29, our consumption was up over 30% that week. So not the peak we saw when it [the coronavirus pandemic] first broke, but still very, very significant.”

Conagra noted frozen food sales increased 17.5% for the week ended March 29. Sales of meals gained 14.5%, snack sales rose 11.4% and staples sales surged 55.3%.

Connolly says demand for Conagra’s foods will “remain elevated” until people start leaving their home.

“We believe Conagra will be a strong near-term beneficiary of increased food at home consumption,” remarked JPMorgan analyst Ken Goldman. The firm rates Conagra shares at an Overweight.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) and have not been compensated for this article.