How an Old-School Canned Pasta Brand Lost Out to Chef Boyardee

There was once a quiet contest for the loyalty and appetites of American children. The rivals were Chef Boyardee and Franco-American, a matchup that echoed the better-known Coke and Pepsi rivalry, though it played out more subtly. Unlike that soda battle, this one had a definite winner. Franco-American, a brand that dated back to the 1880s, was discontinued by Campbell’s in 2004.

Both companies benefited from marketing aimed at children in the mid-20th century, helping create loyal fans split between Beefaroni and SpaghettiOs. Over time, however, Chef Boyardee pulled ahead. By the early 2000s, it was selling more than twice as much canned pasta as Franco-American. Campbell’s, which had owned Franco-American since 1915, reviewed market research and concluded that the Campbell’s name carried stronger public appeal, leading to the brand’s phaseout.

Both brands began with immigrant founders

Franco-American began in 1887, when French immigrant Alphonse Biardot launched the company in Jersey City, New Jersey with canned soups. At a time when canned food and soup were still far from mainstream, Biardot promoted the business aggressively, including factory tours and a book about his soups. In the 1890s, he introduced canned “spaghetti à la Milanaise,” becoming the first successful large-scale producer of canned spaghetti. He later sold the company to Campbell’s in 1915, and canned pasta continued under that label.

About a decade later, Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi rose to fame as a celebrity chef and the face behind the Chef Boy-ar-dee name. Although he sold the company in 1946, his image remains on the packaging. In the 1950s, Chef Boyardee introduced Beefaroni for children, and in 1965 Franco-American answered with SpaghettiOs, developed by Campbell’s marketing research director Donald Goerke and backed by the memorable slogan “Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs.” SpaghettiOs and similar products are still sold in stores, though not under the Franco-American brand name.