In this article:
- Soup is one more product segment the pandemic caused a spike in
- Campbell’s intends to keep the momentum and new generation of soup consumers hooked on its family of five soup brands by keeping soup convenience relevant to modern consumers
Become the best CRMer you can:
CRM Hack: Monitoring the User’s Heartbeat
What Does It Mean to Treat a Customer’s Email With Respect?
To Lock or Not to Lock Customers (into CRM Journeys)
What the Efforts to Promote Responsible Gaming Look Like Form the Inside
As the 32 varieties rendered into art by Andy Warhol in 1962 have fallen out of favor with millennials, Campbell’s soup sales have been on the decline. As reported in Food Business News, Campbell’s soup sales declined steadily at the rate of 2% between 2015 and 2019, hitting it’s lowest stock price since the great recession in early 2019.
The brand tried to turn that around by adopting what it called a Soup 2.0 strategy back in 2016, which did help bounce the stock price to its all-time high during that year.
But it took the pandemic to make it take off. Between 2019 and 2021, its soup sales moved up at the rate of 6% – a growth attributed to the shift toward eating at home during the pandemic. Now, Campbell Soup Co. stock is on the rise again, even if it still underperforms market.
The FBN article quotes detailed figures from Christopher D. Foley, president of Campbell’s Meals & Beverages business unit, that were delivered at the Dec. 14 virtual investor day: “soup occasions total 92 million each week with 22 million of these soup occasions coming from millennial households.”
Foley observed the current appeal of convenience. After spending time making sourdough bread and other time-intensive food items, cooking fatigue has set in. Now people want to keep their prep time to under 18 minutes.
Consequently, Campbell’s has enjoyed a boost to its products with all five label brands: Campbell’s, Well Yes!, Pacific, Swanson, and Chunky. Each has a distinctive identity, though the health connection of the premium Pacific brand is poised to evolve more to fit what younger customers prefer.
Foley noted that the company will build on the momentum of the past couple of years by adding more options designed “to grow relevance and keep refreshing the cooking experience.” He cited possibilities like “adding healthier or more convenient forms or expanding our Pacific brands to bring organic or plant-based options.”
Foley observed: “We will continue to stay focused as we work to modernize soup to ensure it stays relevant for tomorrow’s consumers.”
Maybe, tough, the focus should be on time-to-belly.