Stouffer Corporation
| Industry | |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Stouffer Lunch Systems (1924) |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Founder | Abraham E. Stouffer |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Fully merged into Nestlé USA's processed foods division (1998); restaurant and hotel divisions sold (1992-1993) |
| Successor |
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| Headquarters |
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Key people | Gordon and Vernon Stouffer |
| Products | Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine frozen foods, Stouffer's Restaurants, Stouffer Hotels |
| Parent |
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Stouffer Corporation was an American corporation headquartered in Cleveland and later Solon, Ohio. Primarily known for its line of frozen foods, over its history, it has had a major presence in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Stouffer Corporation was acquired by Litton Industries in 1967 and then Nestlé in 1973, and existed as a wholly owned subsidiary corporation for the next quarter century.
Stouffer Corporation became a division of Nestlé USA in 1998 and was renamed Nestlé Prepared Foods. The division was merged with other units over the next several decades and its name was changed to Nestlé Foods in 2017, and later again renamed Nestlé Meals, its current name as of 2024. The division continues to produce a line of frozen foods under the brand name Stouffer's, but also uses different brand names for other lines of frozen foods, including Lean Cuisine, Sweet Earth, and Hot Pockets.
Nestlé USA divested itself of its restaurant and hotel subsidiaries in the early 1990s. Stouffer Restaurants was spun off as its own company, Select Restaurants, Inc. Stouffer Hotels was sold and is now fully integrated into the Renaissance Hotels subsidiary of Marriott International.