Campbell’s Stops Using Cans In The 21st Century

Campbell’s can learn something from students making soups from scratch for online culinary courses. In an effort to reduce company costs, the American soup giant Campbell’s is moving away from its classic standard can and transitioning into a more Mille​nnial-friendly packaging, among other things.

The company, which is based in Camden, N.J., reported on Tuesday that profits fell 30 percent this past quarter. This report included all soup sales as well as V8 products. Along with a recall of a few Plum Village products and falling stock prices, a structural overhaul seemed like a necessary move for the 145-year-old company.

As the fresh food movement continues to grow in popularity, processed and packaged food companies are beginning to rethink the way they make products. Campbell’s has been known for generations as center-isle grocery fare, but is now facing a changing industry where people want fresh produce, meats and dairy products in the kitchen.

Building a relationship with the younger generation is still a work in progress. Campbell’s has been introducing soup products in brightly colored plastic pouches as early as August 2012. The company’s line of dinner sauces are presented in neat black packages designed to evoke the blackboard menus of hipster cafes.

Campbell’s Chief Financial Officer Craig Owens was quick to give a general, but revealing report on the effectiveness of the transformed packaging.

“It’s still pretty small. It’s not a very significant portion of our soup sales,” he told ABC news.

Looking beyond marketing strategies, Campbell’s is focused on new, more hopeful ventures. Bolthouse Farms, a California-based juice and carrot company, was part of a $1.5 billion buyout in the fall of 2012. The company’s purchase of Plum Village rounds out the effort to make a mark on the “fresh packaged foods” market.

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