Campbell is dropping the ‘Soup’ from its name
By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN
New York (CNN) — No more soup for the Campbell’s company.
The 155-year-old Campbell Soup Company plans to drop “soup” from its corporate name, rebranding as The Campbell’s Company. More consumers are reaching for snacks and ditching ready-to-serve soups, and the company has bought up other food lines to grab them.
In addition to its lineup of soups, Campbell now owns snack brands like Goldfish, Snyder’s of Hanover, Cape Cod, Pepperidge Farm and others. Campbell also recently bought Sovos Brands, maker of popular Italian food brands like Rao’s sauces.
“This subtle yet important change retains the company’s iconic name recognition, reputation and equity built over 155 years while better reflecting the full breadth of the company’s portfolio,” Campbell CEO Mark Clouse said Tuesday in a statement. The name change is subject to shareholder approval at the company’s annual meeting in November.
Although soup is an important part of Campbell’s business, it’s now a smaller portion of its sales.
Last year, Campbell’s snack sales grew 13%, while its soups grew 3%.
Legacy food companies like Campbell are pivoting to gain a larger share of the snack market, valued at more than $200 billion by market research firm Circana.
Nearly half of Americans say they eat at least three snacks a day, according to Circana.
In August, Mars, the maker of M&M’s, agreed to buy Kellanova, which owns Cheez-Its and Pringles, in a deal worth almost $29 billion.
“Snacking is a large, attractive, and durable category that continues to grow in importance with consumers,” Kellanova said at the time.
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