SIC 2038 Frozen Specialties, Not Elsewhere Classified

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2038

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing frozen food specialties, not elsewhere classified, such as frozen dinners and frozen pizza. The manufacture of some important frozen foods and specialties is classified elsewhere. For example, establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing frozen dairy specialties are classified in SIC 2024: Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts; those manufacturing frozen bakery products are classified in SIC 2051: Bread and Other Bakery Products and SIC 2053: Frozen Bakery Products, Except Bread; those manufacturing frozen fruits and vegetables are classified in SIC 2037: Frozen Fruits, Fruit Juices, and Vegetables; and those manufacturing frozen fish and seafood specialties are classified in SIC 2092: Prepared Fresh or Frozen Fish and Seafood.

NAICS CODE(S)

311412

Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Due to increased competition from other sectors of the food industry, such as refrigerated entrees and ready-to-eat meals prepared by grocery store delis, frozen food sales began to weaken in the early 2000s. Frozen food sales grew 5.3 percent in 2001, 4.4 percent in 2002, and just 1.4 percent in 2003. Sales in 2003 totaled $27.1 billion. The frozen food segments performing well despite increased competition included frozen dinners, which saw a sales increase of 8.6 percent in 2003.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

Clarence Birdseye is considered the father of the frozen food industry. He created the freezing process so that preserved foods did not need to be cooked immediately. Birdseye formed Birds Eye Foods Ltd. in London in 1954; it later became a subsidiary of Unilever. According to Quick Frozen Foods International, Birds Eye "virtually held an umbrella over the industry during the squalls of its infancy."

The frozen food industry evolved during the early 1960s as the proliferation of supermarkets and self-service stores made mass marketing of frozen food products profitable. At the same time, refrigerator-freezers and stand-alone freezers gained in popularity. The first frozen food products were vegetables, poultry, fish, and fruit in boilable pouches. Items such as frozen juice concentrate, ice cream novelties, baked goods, variety dinners, seafood, breakfast items, and pizza gradually entered the industry from the mid-1960s through the...