ConAgra Links Brands As It Competes For Space

EMILY FREDRIX

MILWAUKEE (AP) — America, meet ConAgra. The maker of Chef Boyardee, Hunt's tomato sauce and ACT II popcorn is rebranding itself as it looks to tout its portfolio to investors and retailers as stores try to deal with frugal consumers by carrying only the best-performing brands.

The Omaha, Neb.-based company says it has those top-selling brands, and its new marketing campaign launching this week highlights that by telling people its products are "Food you love."

The campaign — which includes a new logo of a smile on a plate — marks the first time ConAgra Foods Inc. is so overtly advertising its name with the brands it makes. The push also seeks to emphasize deep changes in the company's business away from commodities and toward branded food products.

The company, which has been increasing its marketing, will tout its new image with a national advertising campaign. It will also replace its old logo — just the words ConAgra Foods — with the new one on the back of its packages.

Consumers are already sold on the company's brands, which also include Egg Beaters and Orville Redenbacher, so the campaign's main targets are investors and retailers, Chief Executive Gary Rodkin told The Associated Press in an interview.