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Udi's Healthy Foods is a brand of gluten-free food owned by Conagra Brands.

History

Udi's started as a group of cafes in Denver, Colorado, owned by Udi Baron. Baron's first cafe was called Udi the Sandwich Man, which opened in 1994. In 2008, Baron teamed with a gluten-free baker and started producing gluten free products. The pair focused on the 10% of Americans that are either gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, knowing that typical gluten-free products on the market "tasted terrible". The market was worth $1.6 billion at the time. Retailers initially rejected gluten-free products, seeing them as a "fad"; the market has since grown to $4.2 billion annually.

Sales of Udi's reached $60 million in 2012, and the brand was purchased by Boulder Brands for $125 million in 2013. Some locations of Smashburger first offered the Udi's gluten-free bun. In 2016 Pinnacle Foods purchased Boulder Brands. Two years later, Conagra Brands bought Pinnacle Foods in order to expand their frozen foods line. Conagra Brands is the current owner of the Udi's product line. It supplies Udi's brand products to many grocery stores and restaurants.

References

1. Gross, Dan (25 June 2013). "Pivoting, Consumer Products Style". Forbes. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
2. Ajit Thomas, Maria (21 June 2013). "Boulder Brands bets on gluten-free foods to spur sales". Reuters.
3. Naidu, Richa; Venugopal, Aishwarya (27 June 2018). "Conagra to buy Pinnacle for $8.1 billion, creating frozen food powerhouse". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 8 December 2022.

• Gluten-free diet
• Bakeries of the United States
• Products introduced in 2008
• Conagra Brands brands
• Food and drink companies established in 2008
• Companies based in Denver
• 2008 establishments in Colorado
• 2013 mergers and acquisitions