The History of NFRA
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association was founded in 1945 as “The National Wholesale Frozen Food Distributors.” At a meeting in New York City’s Yale Club, forty-two representatives of 36 distributing firms chartered the organization under the leadership of Burton Prince of New Haven, Connecticut.
In his opening address, Prince stated the purpose of the new Association was to give the distributors a “single voice” with which to deal with the government and other segments of the frozen food industry on issues of concern to the wholesale distributors. Though the Association has changed in many ways since those formative years, the concept of NFRA as the collective voice of the frozen and refrigerated dairy foods industry remains true today.
The 40s and 50s
The early years of NFRA were difficult both for the Association and the industry as a whole. Despite improved cooperation between the packer segment and the distributors, frozen food market share did not improve. There were several reasons for the lack of growth. First, refrigerator/freezers were still not in widespread use in the 1940s. Second, public perceptions of frozens were not high; and third, public and trade presses persisted in calling attention to the high costs and excessive inventories of frozen foods. Despite these disappointing facts, NFRA persevered.
As the Association entered the 1950s it counted a membership of 107 distributors and 46 associate packer and broker members. In recognition of the broadened membership, the word “Wholesale” was dropped from the organization title in 1955. Four years later, the word “Distributors” was dropped and the Association became known as the National Frozen Food Association.
The 80s
In response to observations that March was the slowest month for sales of frozen foods, Murray Lender (founder of Lender’s Bagels) led an effort to declare March as National Frozen Food Month. In March 1984, Lender and NFRA launched the first annual March Frozen Food Month promotion in an effort to raise sales dramatically. Today the promotion is nationally recognized in retail stores around the nation, promoting the benefits and importance of frozen foods and engaging shoppers. Also in 1984, President Ronald Reagan noted that the American frozen food industry was celebrating its 54th year of service, and dedicated an entire day to its accomplishments. March 6th became known as Frozen Food Day.
The 90s
In 1990, the Frozen Food Hall of Fame was established by the Distinguished Order of Zerocrats, an organization of frozen food industry members whose purpose is to maintain the tradition of promoting the image and advancement of the frozen food industry. These members nominate and vote on the newest inductees, whose dedication and hard work have greatly benefited the industry. Today, NFRA and AFFI (American Frozen Food Institute) host the annual ceremony honoring the imagination and innovation that have ensured the continued growth and success of the frozen food industry.
The NFRA Retail Executive Conference was first held in 1992, bringing together industry executives for a casual, professional development event with golfing and networking. It is held in Tempe, Arizona and is more commonly known as the NFRA Executive Conference today.
The 2000s
In 2001, the refrigerated dairy foods department was incorporated into the Association because of its similarities to frozen in the retail market and the Association was renamed the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association to recognize its broadened membership. Today, NFRA has grown to over 400 corporate members from every segment of the industry.
The Summer Favorites Ice Cream & Novelties national promotion began in 2002 as a display contest sponsored by Frozen Food Age and Progressive Grocer with cash prizes for the winning displays. In 2003, June Dairy Month was established as a national promotion. The very first frozen and refrigerated Convention was held in Las Vegas.
The 2010s
As the association’s annual events continued to grow in popularity, the NFRA Convention mobile app was launched in 2011, providing attendees with easy access to the attendee list, hotel maps, and other important information.
In 2012, NFRA hired the world’s largest PR agency, Edelman, to enhance the association’s marketing campaigns and efforts to promote frozen and dairy foods to consumers. In the following months, two consumer PR campaigns – Real Food. Frozen. and Dairy…and Beyond were launched and began to reach consumers on a whole new scale.
In 2015, dedicated event websites for the Executive Conference and NFRA Convention were created to provide additional details on registration, hotel/travel, and sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
A consumer facing-brand, Easy Home Meals, was launched with the EasyHomeMeals.com website to provide tips and recipes to a wider audience. Influencers, foodies, bloggers, and other partner relationships were established in order to promote the benefits of frozen and refrigerated foods with exciting recipe content, videos, blog posts, and more.
The 2020s
NFRA’s annual promotions were taken to the next level by partnering with advertising platform AdAdapted to reach shoppers through increasingly popular e-commerce carts and mobile apps.
In 2024, the inaugural Penguin Pitch: Emerging Brand Contest was launched, recognizing rising manufacturers in the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. Also introduced in 2024 was NFRA’s first podcast, Chill & Chat with NFRA, where industry leaders have cool conversations about the frozen and refrigerated categories.
In 2025, The First Penguin: Next Generation Leadership Program kicked off to provide a unique opportunity to a select group of exceptional young professionals to network and grow within the industry.
