Udi's Healthy Foods is a brand of gluten-free food owned by Conagra Brands.

History

Udi's started as a group of cafes in Denver, Colorado, owned by Udi Baron. Baron's first cafe was called Udi the Sandwich Man, which opened in 1994. In 2008, Baron teamed with a gluten-free baker and started producing gluten free products. The pair focused on the 10% of Americans that are either gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, knowing that typical gluten-free products on the market "tasted terrible". The market was worth $1.6 billion at the time. Retailers initially rejected gluten-free products, seeing them as a "fad"; the market has since grown to $4.2 billion annually.

Sales of Udi's reached $60 million in 2012, and the brand was purchased by Boulder Brands for $125 million in 2013.^[1][2] Some locations of Smashburger first offered the Udi's gluten-free bun. In 2016 Pinnacle Foods purchased Boulder Brands. Two years later, Conagra Brands bought Pinnacle Foods in order to expand their frozen foods line.^[3] Conagra Brands is the current owner of the Udi's product line. It supplies Udi's brand products to many grocery stores and restaurants.

References