News Release

ConAgra Foods Introduces Gourmet Wood-Fired Pizza From Wolfgang Puck

Mar 8, 2002, 12:32 PM EST

OMAHA, Neb., Mar 8, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG), one of America's leading branded food companies, announces a new gourmet packaged food line created from an innovative alliance with Wolfgang Puck, one of America's most famous chefs. The new collection of real wood-fired pizzas from Celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck will appear in supermarket freezers in California this spring, as ConAgra Foods brings Puck's unique and irresistible flavor combinations and an authentic Old World pizza cooking method to the homes of millions of Californians.

ConAgra Foods Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Rohde commented, "Wolfgang has set the standard for innovative, gourmet pizza at his Spago restaurants. The challenge for ConAgra Foods was to establish a new level of quality and taste in frozen pizzas."

ConAgra Foods' executive chefs, working in collaboration with master chef Wolfgang Puck, have combined ConAgra Foods' wood-fired oven capabilities with Wolfgang's unparalleled culinary expertise to introduce the first broad-scale line of wood-fired pizzas available in U.S. supermarkets.

Rohde noted, "We believe they deliver the distinctive flavor that comes from an authentic wood-fired oven, along with the unique flavor profile that Wolfgang has made famous, in a pizza you can cook in the comfort of your home."

Inventor of gourmet pizza some 20 years ago when he launched his first restaurant, Spago, Puck has made wood-fired pizzas a signature dish in most of his restaurants. "For centuries, Europeans have used wood-burning ovens to make pizza," said Puck. "This method of cooking uses a combination of maple and aspen firewood, which gives them a distinctive light, smoky flavor; and the heat creates a wonderful, thin, crisp crust. It's really the only way to make great pizza."

For years famous patrons of Puck's Spago restaurants asked for a pizza they could take home. Puck said, "We finally have found the right combination of flavors and wood-fired taste we have been looking for. You will love it."

The Wolfgang Puck television commercials feature the Austrian-born chef, who is famous for his post-Oscar dinner parties, preparing pizzas in his own wood-fired oven. One commercial concludes with Puck saying, "Take me home with you. . .I am no trouble, really."

ConAgra Foods' new Wolfgang Puck Wood-Fired pizzas are available in supermarket freezers in eight- and 11-inch sizes and six different and very distinctive flavors, including Italian Sausage & Pepperoni with Barbecue Sauce, Barbecue Style Chicken, Spicy Grilled Chicken, Primavera Vegetable, Four Cheese & Pesto and Thai Style Chicken. Suggested retail prices range from $6.49 to $8.99. The packaging features a dramatic black and "fire" design with a new signature "PUCK" banner.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. is one of North America's largest food companies with a strong presence in consumer grocery as well as restaurant and foodservice establishments. ConAgra Foods' consumer brands include: Hunt's tomato products, Healthy Choice, Banquet meals, Armour meats, Bumble Bee tuna, Louis Kemp seafood, La Choy, Chun King, Lunch Makers, Knott's Berry Farm, Wesson, Country Pride, Blue Bonnet, Kid Cuisine, Parkay, Reddi-wip, Marie Callender's, Cook's ham, Butterball, Act II, Slim Jim, Eckrich, Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM cooking spray, Snack Pack puddings, Van Camp's, Peter Pan, Hebrew National, Gulden's mustard, Pemmican jerky, Swift Brown 'N Serve Sausages, Swiss Miss, and many others. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com .

Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, his partner and wife, currently own and operate 14 fine dining restaurant locations as well as Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events. ConAgra Foods manufactures and distributes Wolfgang Puck branded packaged foods under an agreement with Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc., (WPW), of which Puck is chairman. WPW also encompasses his Wolfgang Puck Cafe chain of 16 casual-dining restaurants; his quick-service Wolfgang Puck Expresses; his weekly show on TV's Food Network, cookbooks and gourmet cookware through WP Productions, Inc. Puck has an expansive and interactive website, www.wolfgangpuck.com .

                    MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -  Click Here
               http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X65365756

SOURCE ConAgra Foods, Inc.

CONTACT:          Bob McKeon of ConAgra Foods, Inc., +1-402-595-5392
                  /Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/200825.html 

URL:              http://www.conagrafoods.com/releases/20020308.html
http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright (C) 2002 PR Newswire.  All rights reserved.