Nestle hopes to drive growth of its frozen food brands Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s by expanding them into the higher-growth breakfast and snacking occasions.

At its investor conference in Boston earlier this week, Nestle management revealed that it hopes to revitalise its frozen sales through product innovation focusing on the growth spots in the frozen category.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

According to Nielsen data, the overall frozen category in the US has shrunk in size by 1.8% over the last two years. However, over the 2012-13 period, frozen breakfast sales saw CAGR of 6.4% to $2.9bn and snacks saw CAGR of 0.3% to $2.6bn, Nielsen reveals.

Nestle wants to leverage the leading brand positions held by Stouffer’s and Lean Cuisine by moving the brands – that have previously focused on convenient meals – into this new territory.

In the pipeline for Lean Cuisine, Nestle has breakfast products including a turkey sausage English muffin and wild blueberry and pomegranate oatmeal. Snack products Nestle is preparing to launch under the brand include monterey jack jalapeno stuffed pretzels and spinach and artichoke snack pizza.

Meanwhile, the group is launching snack products such as Stouffer’s mac cups. The firm is also bringing out a new range, Stouffer’s Morning Classics, aimed at the breakfast occasion.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Click here to view just-food’s analysis of Nestle’s plans to revitalise lacklustre Lean Cuisine sales.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact