Cariz Food Company

Cariz Food Company, Inc. is an American food, beverage and confectionary manufacturer and distributor. They manufacture and produce food, drink and hygiene products sold under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, and food service establishments.

Founding, early struggles and eventual success
Cariz Food Company was founded by Ricardo Cariz and Alexandra Nathans-Cariz in 1972 in, after they purchased a feed mill near.

By 1976, Cariz was the largest poultry producer in the state of, and it had expanded into flour and livestock feed. Despite this, the company lost money attempting to expand into the fisheries, pet food and baby care industries, and was forced to sell its space in a office building in order to avoid bankruptcy.

After extensive research into food preservation and refrigeration, in 1982, Cariz had its first major success with the introduction of Speedies, a range of microwaveable burgers and hot sandwiches.

Growth and further expansion
In response to the multi-million-dollar success of Speedies, Cariz set off on a two-decade-long buying spree, purchasing over one hundred prepared food brands, starting with its 1985 purchase of Hazelden's brand cake mixes and powders. It began to rapidly move into the snack foods market, in 1989 it purchased several brands from.

In 1994, Cariz Food Company acquired several of the brands of the former cereal lineup from, the rest were bought by.

Modifications of business areas and further acquisitions
In 2007, Cariz purchased the Abbadia pasta brand from.