Frozen food sales have rocketed in the United States over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a corresponding boost for equipment makers estimated to be worth millions of dollars in extra orders. Past experience has shown that the frozen food sector will continue this spectacular growth in the future as it has done since frozen green peas and fish fingers hit supermarket shelves in the 1950s.

At this time last year, we at Refrigerated & Frozen Foods (the sister publication of Food Engineering) decided to put our annual Foodservice Distributor of the Year Award on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented shutdowns in foodservice—restaurants, hotels, schools, caterers, stadiums, and other volume venues—leaving behind thousands of shuttered businesses. To put it lightly, there was very little to celebrate in foodservice last year.