• Chicago Tribune, Friday, January 29, 2010 10:51 AM

Kraft's DiGiorno brand may be king of the icy mozzarella in the rest of the U.S., but the leading frozen pizza brand in the Chicago area is the home-grown Home Run Inn label, Mike Hughlett reports.

Joe Perrino, who worked in his dad's Home Run Inn as a youth, is responsible for the explosive growth of its frozen pizza line since taking over the company in 1990. He opened a new plant in 1995 just as a major competitor entered the market with a big promotional effort, igniting a price war. But after one tough year of declining sales, Home Run Inn regained its footing and took off.

The brand is also popular in a few other markets, such as Denver. U.S. sales through conventional grocery channels were $46.1 million last year, up 16.5% over the previous year, according to Information Resources Inc., making it the fastest growing of the nation's top 10 frozen pizza makers. Coming next month: single-serving frozen pasta offerings in four varieties.

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