Microwaves would mean nothing without something to cook in them so Swanson came into the picture and in 1947 the first microwave went on sale and the first frozen meal of turkey, cornbread dressing, peas (which I never ate), and sweet potatoes. Deserts like apple cobbler took about three more years to be introduced.
The microwave oven wasn't a big hit at first because only the elite could afford the $5,000 price tag ($54,000 in today's dollars). Not very many were sold and Swanson only sold around 5,300 of their dinners at $.98 cents a piece.
Now hundreds of millions of microwaves exist in the U.S. alone and frozen dinners have turned into a multi-billion dollar business. As it is now, Nestle USA rules the frozen food market with brands like: 1) Digiorno 2) Hot Pockets 3) Stouffer's and 4) Lean Cuisine.