CJ CheilJedang builds world's biggest frozen pizza plant in US

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. built the world's largest frozen pizza plant in the US to overtake Nestle on the related American market.

CJ CheilJedang on Sunday said it expanded the pizza factory of its affiliate Schwan's in Salina, Kansas, by about 40,000 square meters to cover a combined 90,000. The size is equal that of about 12 soccer stadiums to make the facility the world's largest for making frozen pizza.

CJ CheilJedang said this expansion will greatly raise the US market share of Red Baron, Schwan's top frozen pizza brand. The brand's share rose from 15.5% in 2020 to 19.4% last month, just short of leader DiGiorno of Nestle with 20.4%.

In the first quarter, CJ's food sales in the US rose 18% year on year. Schwan's posted sales of 2.2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2019, the year after its acquisition by CJ CheilJedang, and over 3 trillion won last year.

Schwan's has significantly raised its output capacity to preemptively respond to the rapidly growing demand for frozen pizza, CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios said, adding that his company will secure a dominant position on the market based on world-class manufacturing facilities.

Write to Soo-Jung Ha at agatha77@hankyung.com