Nestlé Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months.
The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer’s, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
The company says it is focusing on categories that support long-term business growth, including confectionery, coffee, ice cream, premium water and pet food.
Nestlé Canada president and CEO John Carmichael says this decision will allow the company to further invest in the categories it’s prioritizing.
The company does not manufacture these products in Canada, so no manufacturing facilities in Canada will be affected.
Nestlé says it will work with its retail partners to facilitate the exit of these products from stores.
Manufacturers ‘refocusing’
Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C., says Nestlé’s move is part of a bigger trend of manufacturers pulling back from Canada and some other markets amid increased shipping costs and stretched supply lines.
“[The frozen products] are made in the U.S. and shipped north, and it looks like they’re refocusing on the products that are actually are made here. It’s an interesting trend, in that we’re seeing sort of a slowing of the movement of food,” she said.
She points to a recent lettuce shortage in Canada, after a major producer in California suffered drought and an outbreak of disease in its lettuce crops, resulting in reduced exports and higher prices.
Newman warns that Canada is likely to see more product disruptions and, potentially, fewer specialty products being imported as supply chain uncertainties continue.
“What we really have to focus on is building our domestic supply lines to replace lost products, or the grocery store could get kind of boring after a while.”