Deep Freeze Don't let the name fool you. Frozen foods are hot.

Clarence Birdseye must have known what he was doing when hefirst conceptualized pre-packaged, frozen foods more than 60 yearsago. Somehow, the budding entrepreneur, who back then patentedseveral of his food-freezing ideas, clued in to the fact thatAmericans love a home-cooked meal--but they also love poppingsomething in the microwave and kicking off their shoes while dinneris "served." Yes, The Birdseye Frosted Food Co. wasdestined for success even before microwaves became secondnature.

Through the years, other entrepreneurs have followed suit andhelped build a behemoth industry that now gathers $60 billion inannual retail and food-service sales. And while most of those salesderive from the Fortune 500s, there's still plenty of room forentrepreneurs to step up to the frozen-food plate.

"What's driven frozen-food sales is new-productintroduction," says Steven C. Anderson, president and CEO ofthe National Restaurant Association. "A lot of the sales comefrom larger companies, but a lot also come from entrepreneurs whohave a good niche product."