Hillshire Brands, Peoria, Illinois, formerly Sara Lee, is planning to introduce new products in frozen breakfast category in an effort to become the most innovative meat-based company in North America.
The offerings will range from easy-to-heat breakfast bowls, quesadillas and burritos to egg sandwiches, and will be strengthened through enhanced marketing and advertising, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"Historically a lot of our energy in R&D team and the supply chain team was focused on taking costs out of our products," Hillshire CEO Sean Connolly was quoted as saying. "Now we've got a healthy balance between innovation and growth as well as the need to always be efficient in our operations."
Having set a goal of new products comprising 13 to 15% of sales by 2015, Hillshire plans to increase investment in marketing, advertising and promotions by five percent, compared to the present 3.5%, by 2015. The company focuses on meat-centric food products and foodservice operations and offers several consumer brands, such as Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Aidells, Gallo Salame and State Fair.
