Campbell Soup Company on Wednesday outlined its strategies to unlock its purpose, potential and performance. Led by President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison, executives detailed plans to strengthen Campbell’s business through four strategic imperatives:
- Elevate trust through real food, transparency and sustainability;
- Build digital and e-commerce capabilities;
- Continue to diversify Campbell’s portfolio in health and well-being with fresh, organic and healthful foods; and
- Expand Campbell’s presence in developing markets.
Morrison said, “Over the last five years, we've taken a number of bold steps to reposition the company for not just profitable, but sustainable growth. Our progress has been methodical. We’ve improved our company and shifted our center of gravity. But we have higher aspirations for the food we make, the role we play in people’s lives and improving our growth trajectory. That’s why it’s necessary to continue to relentlessly improve ourselves, our food, our business and our culture to further differentiate Campbell and to forge a meaningful and lasting place in the lives of new generations of consumers.”
Defining the Future of Real Food, Elevating Transparency
Campbell outlined how its real food philosophy is changing how it thinks and acts about its food, helping to restore consumers’ connection to food and supporting the company’s goal to set the standard for transparency in the food industry. “We believe real food should be made with recognizable, desirable ingredients from plants or animals. It should be responsibly crafted using ethical sourcing and sustainable practices that safeguard natural resources. Lastly, it should always be delicious, safe and available at a fair price—all three without compromise,” said Morrison.
Mark Alexander, President - Americas Simple Meals and Beverages, discussed a fundamental shift in how the company thinks about its food and the way it operates. Campbell has developed a scorecard called Campbell’s Real Food Index to track progress against its ingredient commitments, such as plans to remove artificial colors and flavors from its North American products by the end of 2018. The Index can be found on www.whatsinmyfood.com.
Campbell also said it will use only antibiotic-free chicken in its products, a shift that will be implemented over the next few years.
Alexander said, “We have defined our real food philosophy and laid out a plan to evolve our portfolio over time. This will not be a straightforward journey, or an easy one, but we are resolutely committed to it.”
Health and Well-being
The company discussed expanding its offerings in the faster-growing health and well-being space with a focus on key growth areas such as packaged fresh innovation and expanding organic and clean label offerings in center store.
Jeff Dunn, President - Campbell Fresh, outlined plans to drive growth in the division’s core businesses in produce and deli with juices, dressings, soups and salsa, as well as expand into new parts of the store. Campbell is investing in a rapid innovation process to develop new Campbell Fresh products with the speed and flexibility of a startup. The first product from this effort, Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk, is a non dairy milk. Developed in a few short months, it is designed to tap into the alternative milks that have transformed the dairy category over the past few years. Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk is made with 100 percent pea protein and will launch in mid-fiscal 2017 in the dairy section of the grocery store.
Expand Presence in Developing Markets
Luca Mignini, President - Global Biscuits and Snacks, highlighted Campbell's strategy to capture a bigger piece of the growing snacks market by expanding its brand footprint across faster-growing channels and geographies, particularly in Asia. The Global Biscuits and Snacks division will aim to increase the frequency and penetration of its iconic brands in their home markets - Goldfish in the U.S., Kjeldsens in China and Tim Tam in Australia - while introducing and expanding into new geographies.
In China, Campbell intends to increase marketing efforts behind its Kjeldsens brand in its key markets of Shanghai and Guangdong province while expanding its distribution in key regions in the East, and adding distributors in the South. The company plans to build its e-commerce capabilities in China to extend the Kjeldsens brand of butter cookies as well as to launch Tim Tam biscuits and Goldfish snack crackers.
Mignini also outlined efforts in the U.S. to support the momentum of the Goldfish cracker business by building on the launch of Goldfish Made with Organic Wheat crackers, and to extend the national roll out of Tim Tam biscuits nationwide. The company plans to expand its Pepperidge Farm premium breads and rolls into additional West Coast markets, following the first Western U.S. launch of its bakery products in the Phoenix, Arizona, market earlier this year.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell is driven and inspired by our Purpose: “Real food that matters for life’s moments.” We make a range of high-quality soups and simple meals, beverages, snacks and packaged fresh foods. For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and readily available foods and beverages that connect them to each other, to warm memories and to what’s important today. Led by our iconic Campbell’s brand, our portfolio includes Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, Arnott’s, V8, Swanson, Pace, Prego, Plum, Royal Dansk, Kjeldsens and Garden Fresh Gourmet. Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet’s natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo. To learn more about how we make our food and the choices behind the ingredients we use, visit www.whatsinmyfood.com.