Chun King

by Chun King

1947 – 1995 GONE FOREVER

Gone — Chun King was sold to Hunt-Wesson in 1995, which already owned the competing La Choy line, and the products were off shelves by 1996. Nothing has carried the name since.

The brand that taught mid-century America to eat Chinese food out of a can, invented in Duluth by an Italian-American grocer who seasoned chow mein to suit his own palate. At its height it accounted for roughly half the prepared Chinese food sold in the United States.

🧾 One more thingJeno Paulucci created Chun King chow mein in 1947 and later engineered the Divider-Pak, a two-compartment tray that kept the sauce away from the noodles until the moment of serving. He sold the company in 1966; when the brand eventually landed with the owner of its direct rival La Choy in 1995, it was quietly retired rather than run against itself.

Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’70s & earlier

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