Usually, companies dread having a bunch of left over product that they can’t seem to sell. That’s just wasted money, right? Swanson figured out how to get around that issue.
Many people shop the frozen food sections, looking for frozen dinners to purchase at their local grocery stores. Have you ever wondered where that idea came from? Lifestyle looked into it with their article on the History of TV Dinners. Back in 1953, the minds at Swanson were picking the brains of their workers for ideas on what the could possibly do with all the left over turkeys that don’t sell at Thanksgiving.
One man had an idea that surprised everyone, why not just package it in individual trays? Thus, the frozen dinner was born thanks to Gerry Thomas, thanks to recalling the way that airplanes hand out compartmentalized aluminum trays. Their possible failure turned into a great success!