As a latch-key kid, my brothers and sisters and I ate Hamburger Helper once or twice a week. We were Midwest kids on our own. Our parents worked. We went to school. We needed to eat. Hamburger Helper was the perfect product for us to quickly cook, eat, and get back outside to play with our friends.
Because of President Trump’s inflationary economic policies, Americans are having a difficult time placing food on the table. Everything from gas, insurance, clothing, and food is more expensive. Americans are turning to pre-packed foods, like Hamburger Helper, to stretch their food budgets and keep dinner table full.
In the 1970s, Hamburger Helper became a staple on American dinner tables as families, strained by inflation and soaring beef prices, looked to turn a pound of ground beef into an entire meal.
These days, those same pressures are why the flavored pasta mix is coming to the rescue again.
While most food companies are seeing declines in consumer demand for their products, sales of Hamburger Helper are up 14.5% in the year through August, getting an extra bump from its appearance on an episode of “The Bear” in June, according to the company that owns the brand, Eagle Foods.
And it’s not just Hamburger Helper. Sales of foods commonly purchased by consumers when financial times get tough are on the rise, according to industry analysts. Purchases of rice are up 7.5% this year. Distressed shoppers are also buying more cans of tuna, salmon and sardines. Sales of beans and boxes of macaroni and cheese are also strong, based on data from the research firm Circana.
Uncertainty about the economy and higher tariffs levied on goods from a variety of countries have led many consumers to refocus their spending on essentials or items that are good values, while cutting back on extras or unnecessary spending.
“Cost-of-living expenses are up. Eating and drinking expenses are up,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, who advises packaged food companies at Circana. “Consumers are looking for foods that fill them up for the least amount of money.”
In grocery stores, shoppers are increasingly picking up less-expensive store brands. McDonald’s and other restaurant chains are offering more value meals. Sales of sweet treats like ice cream, cookies and cakes are down, according to Circana.
Although inflation has cooled considerably from the peak levels seen in 2022, the price of food consumed at home is still 21% higher than it was four years ago. And in August, prices in several food categories, including meats, coffee and many fruits and vegetables, jumped considerably, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But for many families, the soaring price of beef has been a particular pressure point. Severe shortages in U.S. cattle inventory caused the price of ground beef to jump 13% in the past year, to a record high of $6.63 a pound by August, according to the BLS. The number of cattle available for beef is at its lowest level since the 1950s, while consumer demand has remained steady, driving up beef costs.
Evelyn Hidalgo, a 31-year-old digital creator in Nashville, Tennessee, picked up a box of Hamburger Helper Stroganoff last year for the first time for her and her husband.
“I was looking for a meal to put in our rotation for days when I needed something really convenient, fast, but that would also save us money,” Hidalgo said.
She said the finished product tasted “bland” and has not tried it again. Still, Hidalgo’s search for a new, inexpensive product echoes what many shoppers are doing as they consider options such as private-label brands and discount supermarkets.
While Hamburger Helper may stretch food dollars, it is not exactly in line with the broad movement for less-processed, healthier food options. A box of Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni contains artificial dyes including Yellow No. 5, and a single serving has 27% of the daily suggested intake of sodium.
“We have real cheese and real pasta in the product,” said Bernard Kreilmann, CEO of Eagle Foods, which acquired Hamburger Helper from General Mills in 2022. “But we are actively looking to remove some of the artificial ingredients that have made their way into the product over time. We are listening to consumers and adapting the product.”
Originally available in five flavors, including Beef Noodle, Rice Oriental and Chili Tomato, the product was a hit when introduced in 1971, with a quarter of U.S. households purchasing a box, according to General Mills. Many of the original flavors were discontinued or updated.
The brand’s appeal grew over the years as the number of flavors expanded to as many as 50, including well-known versions such as Tuna Helper and Cheeseburger Macaroni. Advertisements emphasized how quick and easy the dish was to prepare.
The food also quickly became part of American pop culture. Its mascot, Lefty, a puffy white glove with a face on its palm, appeared in television commercials. In 1983’s “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” the financially struggling character Cousin Eddie, played by Randy Quaid, said while grilling “burgers” made entirely of Hamburger Helper during a barbecue, “I don’t know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper. It does just fine by itself.”
And the term “Hamburger Helper economy” became synonymous with consumers experiencing challenging economic conditions. During the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, sales of Hamburger Helper spiked briefly.
“Today, we see consumers coming back for a lot of the same reasons,” said Mala Wiedemann, head of marketing and research and development at Eagle Foods.
Still, over the decades, Hamburger Helper lost market share to competitors, and sales slumped as consumers ate out more frequently and sought healthier alternatives. In 2022, General Mills sold Hamburger Helper to Eagle Foods, a Cleveland company best known for its cans of condensed milk. Eagle Foods is owned by the private-equity firm Kelso & Co.
“This brand was not high on their priority list,” said Kreilmann, who has worked in the food industry for four decades. “But we had a clear idea on how to revitalize the franchise.”
One of the first efforts was to figure out how Hamburger Helper could be prepared easier and faster for busy people.
“When this brand was conceived in the 1970s, a fast dinner was one that took 30 to 45 minutes,” Wiedemann said. “Consumers today want it in 20 minutes.”
A big part of the fix was simple: The company reduced the amount of water and the cooking time.
“In the 1970s, when consumers were eating pasta, they were overcooking it, and it became very soft,” Kreilmann said. “Today, we know pasta should be more al dente.”
Eagle Foods has changed its Hamburger Helper lineup to appeal to shifting tastes and needs. It added a Spicy Jalapeño Cheeseburger variety, introduced small, microwavable cups of its meals, and this month said it was expanding into breakfast with a Cheesy Hashbrowns option.
As part of its messaging that Hamburger Helper can stretch food dollars during challenging financial times, Wiedemann noted that Eagle Foods has not raised prices or reduced the size of the box since the company purchased the brand in 2022.
In grocery stores, most boxes sell for around $2. That means, with a pound of ground beef, consumers can feed a family for around $10.
A sign of the brand’s enduring nostalgic appeal, Hamburger Helper was woven into an episode in the latest season of “The Bear” on Hulu/FX. Chef Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, dresses up a Cheeseburger Macaroni meal for a hungry preteen by adding onion, tomato paste, panko breadcrumbs, herbs and fresh cheese.
The episode, which spurred a flurry of TikTok videos of users making their own versions of the recipe, was an unexpected boost.
“That was not product placement,” Wiedemann said.
Julie Creswell wrote this article that originally appeared in The New York Times. Photo courtesy of Mustafa Hussain. Some modifications made by Don Hughes of NewNewz.tv.
