Nestlé’s Stouffer’s line has carved out a dominant presence in frozen comfort foods with meals such as lasagna, chicken enchiladas and beef pot roast. Now, the company is hoping to bring that success to shelf-stable products.

The brand is making its first foray into the space this month with Stouffer’s Supreme Shells & Cheese in two flavors: Cheddar Cheese and Three Cheese. Additional innovations are expected to reach the market starting in 2025.

“We want to shake up the aisle, literally, in terms of what we’re bringing to the consumer,” Tom Moe, president of Nestlé’s meal division, said in an interview. “And when you think about that aisle, it’s been a while since you’ve had a significant brand enter [macaroni & cheese] with a prominent proposition, and now’s the opportunity.”

The shelf-stable macaroni and cheese market is a massive category representing a $2.9 billion market. The segment also is ripe for growth, with a near-term opportunity topping $100 million, Nestlé found.

Stouffer’s is no stranger to macaroni and cheese, producing 13 different frozen variations of the product. But while consumers eat macaroni and cheese 22 times a year, 15 of those occasions involve dried pasta, according to the packaged food company.

“We want to bring that same experience [from frozen] into where the majority of the purchases are,” Moe said. 

Nestlé’s noted that 67% of shoppers who purchase Stouffer’s frozen macaroni and cheese also bought shelf-stable options. The figure was more than double the roughly third of consumers who purchased both a frozen and shelf-stable product, an indication that a new macaroni and cheese launch would especially resonate with Stouffer’s’ existing user base.

The Switzerland-based company said 70% of current shelf-stable macaroni and cheese users expressed interest in purchasing the Stouffer’s offering alongside the brands they already buy.

Nestlé is using a dominant red, horizontal packaging for the shelf-stable macaroni and cheese that resembles the box it has in frozen. This allows the company to tap into the brand equity of Stouffer’s that people recognize while allowing the new product to stand out on shelves against its competitors, Moe said.

Nestlé said its Stouffer’s Supreme Shells & Cheese has 10% more cheese sauce than the leading shelf-stable shells and a more cheese-forward flavor profile that will help it resonate with consumers. Both blinded and branded taste tests between Stouffer’s and the leading shelf-stable brand showed Nestlé’s was preferred, Moe said.

Stouffer’s traces its history to the 1920s when the restaurant Stouffer Lunch opened in Cleveland. The brand entered frozen meals in 1954, and Nestlé acquired the brand nearly two decades later.

During the pandemic, companies such as Nestlé cut back on innovation to focus on keeping shelves stocked with their most popular items. While the impact of COVID-19 is less prominent, the food environment is dealing with inflation that has prompted cash-strapped consumers to cut back on what and how much they buy.

Moe said the new macaroni and cheese is competitively priced with other frozen and shelf-stable products on the market. It also “provides a different dimension” by giving consumers the ability to be more involved in the cooking process — a factor that doesn’t exist when a frozen meal is heated in the microwave or oven.

“There is a very distinct consumer differential there that we want to make sure that we addressed,” he added.

The shelf-stable macaroni and cheese is the latest major offering Nestlé announced in 2024. In May, the company announced it was rolling out its first major U.S. brand in nearly three decades to meet the needs of consumers taking GLP-1 medications and other individuals focusing on weight management. The line, called Vital Pursuit, is expected to reach store shelves this month.