Chun King facts for kids
Chun King was an American brand that made canned Chinese food. It was started in the 1940s by a person named Jeno Paulucci. He was a very creative food inventor who also developed other popular foods like Jeno's Pizza Rolls and frozen pizza. He even created the Michelina's brand of frozen meals.
Contents
The Rise and Fall of Chun King
Early Success
Chun King quickly became very popular. By 1962, the brand was earning $30 million each year. This was a huge amount of money back then! In fact, Chun King sold half of all the ready-to-eat Chinese food in the United States. It was a leader in the market for convenient meals.
Changing Hands
As Chun King grew, bigger companies became interested in it.
- In 1966, a large company called R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company bought Chun King for $63 million.
- Later, in 1985, R. J. Reynolds joined with another well-known food company, Nabisco Brands. The new combined company was named RJR Nabisco.
- In 1989, RJR Nabisco sold Chun King to a company from Singapore called Yeo Hiap Seng. This sale helped RJR Nabisco pay for a very large business deal.
- Before this, in 1986, RJR Nabisco had already sold the frozen food part of Chun King to ConAgra Foods.
The End of an Era
After changing owners several times, Chun King started to lose its popularity. People began buying other brands more often. In 1995, Yeo Hiap Seng sold Chun King to Hunt-Wesson, which owned a competing brand called La Choy. Hunt-Wesson's parent company, ConAgra, eventually decided to close Chun King's factories. Slowly, the Chun King brand disappeared from store shelves.
How Chun King Made Egg Rolls
Jeno Paulucci was always looking for new ways to make food production better. For Chun King's egg rolls, he used a special method called "co-extrusion." This process was developed by a company called Demaco and used a special machine called a Demaco extruder. This helped Chun King make many egg rolls quickly and efficiently for everyone to enjoy.
