Ellio's Pizza is an American brand of
frozen pizza
Pizza is an Italian, specifically Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
The ...
owned and distributed by G.A. Productions LLC of Lodi NJ since 2020.
History
In 1963, Ellio's Pizza was founded by Greek immigrants Elias Betzios, George Liolis, and Manny Tzelios. The brand name was a combination of the names of its three co-founders.
Four years later, Ellio's introduced its signature "9 slice" pizza in a box comprising 3 rectangular pizzas, each divisible crosswise into three slices.
The founders sold Ellio's to Purex Industries in 1971 and Betzios went on the create Betzios Pizza.
When Purex's consumer division was acquired by
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets.
Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
in 1985, Ellio's joined the company's Armour-Dial subsidiary.
In 1988, Canadian frozen food company
McCain Foods
McCain Foods Limited is a Canadian multinational frozen food company established in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada.
It is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, with 1 in 4 french fries in the world being a ...
acquired the Ellio's brand from the
Dial Corporation
Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products and is a su ...
, as it was then named, and continued pizza production in
Lodi, NJ.
At the time, the frozen pizza brand had $30 million in annual sales and was outselling all competitors in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
markets.
In 2006, Ellio's added a microwaveable pizza to its product line, adopting the more common round pizza form. In 2007, despite a distribution limited to the Northeastern U.S., Ellio's was the 9th best selling brand in the country, with sales totaling $34,880,060. In 2009, the product line expanded further, with the introduction of
italian sausage and "Pepperoni Supreme" pizza.
In 2014, McCain Foods announced the sale of its
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...
pizza business, including the Ellio's brand and production facilities, to German food manufacturer
Dr. Oetker
Dr. Oetker () is a German multinational company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, Pizza#Preparation, frozen pizza, pudding, cake decoration, cornflakes, birthday candles, beer, and various other products.
The company is a wholly owned b ...
.
The brand has continued to expand its variety. As of 2015, Ellio's is available in 8 different crust and topping configurations.
In 2018, it also introduced breadsticks.
See also
*
List of frozen food brands
This is a list of frozen food brands. Frozen food is food that is Freezing, frozen from the time it is produced to the time it is
either Frozen food#Defrosting, defrosted or Cooking, cooked by the consumer, or eaten while still frozen.
Frozen f ...
References
External links
Ellio's Pizza official site
Dr. Oetker
Frozen pizza brands
Products introduced in 1963
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