And while the 100-year-old Chef Boyardee brand may seem simple, as a collection of canned pasta products, its value has grown some 10,000% since it first exchanged hands from the family business. In that time, it’s gone on to stock the shelves of thousands of grocers and have a 500-person strong manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.
In 1915, Boiardi first made a name for himself by becoming a top chef at big-name New York City hotels like the Ritz-Carlton while just 17 years old. Less than a decade later, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he opened his own restaurant, called Il Giardino d’Italia. Soon, his expansion of dine-in and carry-out operations required factory production, and the brand took off nationwide—and even thrived during the Great Depression.
And despite Chef Boyardee’s relative simplicity for its near 100-year history, focused on canned and microwaveable cups, there may be innovation in the works.
“We have grown the Hometown portfolio by nearly twofold since we formed the business and are confident that we can reinvigorate the Chef Boyardee brand and extend into new formats quickly,” Hartong added.
“I believe successful entrepreneurs are willing to take the necessary risks. Some people get stuck in the ‘What if I fail?’ mindset, but I’ve always looked at it as ‘What if you tried?’ You’ll never know unless you try it.”
