Campbell Soup plans to drop “soup” from its name as the manufacturer of chips, sauces, cookies and beverages aims to show that its future includes more than its signature dish.
Shareholders at Campbell Soup’s annual meeting in November will be asked to vote on whether to change the name to The Campbell’s Company.
Soup remains an integral part of the 155-year-old business, with more than $1 billion in sales annually. But the acquisitions of snacks manufacturer Snyder’s-Lance and Rao’s sauces maker Sovos Brands, along with growth in Campbell’s own offerings such as Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm, now mean soup makes up a smaller portion of its operations.
Campbell Soup’s core soup lineup now accounts for only 25% of total sales, down from more than 40% in fiscal 2017, according to a research note from Erin Lash, a director of consumer equity research at Morningstar. At the same time, snacks make up around half, up from less than 30%
“We will always love soup, and we’ll never take our eye off of this critical business,” Mark Clouse, Campbell Soup’s CEO, told an audience at the company’s investor day in New York City. “But today, we’re so much more than soup.”
Clouse said soup sales need to remain stable for the company to meet its financial targets. But as the U.S. population ages, soup sales should rise because the food is more popular with older consumers.
He added that Campbell Soup has 16 so-called “leadership brands” in its two divisions — meals and beverages, and snacking — that it is prioritizing. The New Jersey company, with nearly $10 billion in annual net sales, also owns products such as Late July, Pacific, Prego, Swanson and V8. Executives forecast Goldfish alone will become its largest brand by its 2027 fiscal year with $1.3 billion in sales.
While name changes in food and beverages are rare, they do occur as companies broaden beyond the category or brand they are known for.
In 2019, Molson Coors Brewing announced it would change its name to Molson Coors Beverage Company “to better reflect its strategic intent to expand beyond beer and into other growth adjacencies.” Along with its namesake beers, Molson Coors now has a presence in spirits, better-for-you energy drinks as well as spiked lemonade and hard seltzer through its Coca-Cola partnership.
