CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) expects to launch more than 200 new products in fiscal 2014 as the company strengthens its core businesses and expands into higher-growth spaces, including new consumer segments, categories and geographies, President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison and her management team said today at a meeting with investors.
Reviewing Campbell’s growth and performance in fiscal 2013, Morrison said, “We’ve grown our percentage of sales from both sustaining and disruptive innovation, and we’ve multiplied the number of new breakthrough ideas in the pipeline.”
To build on its momentum, Campbell is responding to the evolving tastes, preferences and needs of both its core consumers and new consumers by driving innovation across soup and simple meals, snacks and healthy beverages.
Soup and Simple Meals
Campbell plans to launch Campbell’s Homestyle soups, a new line with “the taste that takes you home,” which will feature wholesome ingredients like juicy strips of roasted white meat chicken, vegetables with farm-fresh goodness and seasoned chicken stock. This delicious product has no added preservatives and will be available in 29 varieties.
Campbell intends to build on the success of its Campbell’s Chunky soup line, which delivered strong growth in the past year, with new pub-inspired varieties, including Hearty Cheeseburger, Spicy Chicken Quesadilla and Philly-Style Cheesesteak. These new flavors are designed to further enhance the brand’s strong appeal to males with hearty appetites who enjoy filling, ready-to-serve soup. With Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews as the new star of its popular Mama’s Boy advertising campaign, Campbell’s Chunky also plans to launch new and improved recipes for some of its most popular varieties, including New England Clam Chowder, Old-fashioned Vegetable Beef and Beef with Country Vegetables.
Consumers can also expect a new Creamy Thai Style Chicken and Rice variety of Campbell’s Go soups, a premium line of soups that features microwaveable pouch packaging and bold, adventurous flavors, as well as new varieties of Healthy Request and Campbell’s condensed soups.
Creating a New Dinner Sauce Category
The introduction of Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces will expand the company’s offerings in the dinner sauce category. Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces will make it easy for consumers to prepare convenient meals with their favorite meats in slow cookers, which are owned by more than 80 percent of U.S. households and used to prepare nearly 500 million meals a year. To drive consumer awareness about this easy and delicious dinner sauce, Campbell is partnering with CrockPot®, a brand leader in slow cookers with almost half of the market share. Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces will be available in six varieties, including Apple Bourbon Barbecue and Tavern Style Pot Roast.
The launch of Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces builds on the introduction of Campbell’s Skillet Sauces, which are expanding in fiscal 2014 with two new varieties: Creamy Parmesan Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken.
Mark Alexander, President - Campbell North America, said, “Together, these innovative products are enabling Campbell to tap into the nearly $200 billion dinner segment with consumer propositions that are unique, delicious and convenient.”
For consumers who enjoy creative cooking, Campbell expects to introduce a new line of Swanson flavor-infused broths featuring a selection of culinary-inspired varieties such as Mexican Tortilla and Thai Ginger.
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Expands Into New Territory
The iconic Goldfish brand continues to grow after more than 50 years. To expand its appeal, the company has launched Goldfish Puffs, cheesy air-puffed baked snacks that have been created with teens in mind. Goldfish Puffs are just 140 calories per serving and gluten-free. Additionally, Goldfish crackers are expected to be offered in new varieties inspired by Hispanic taste preferences, including Salsa Con Queso, Fiesta Flavor Blasted and Kick It Up a Nacho.
The company is also making a splash at mealtime with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Mac & Cheese, the brand’s first entry in the simple meals category. Made with real cheese sauce, Goldfish Mac & Cheese aims to delight children while making it easy for moms to serve a quick and delicious simple meal or snack. Goldfish Mac & Cheese will be available exclusively in Walmart stores nationwide.
To entice consumers with a sweet tooth and drive continued growth in Pepperidge Farm cookies, the company expects to launch two limited-edition holiday varieties of Milano cookies: Chocolate-dipped Milano and a Candy Cane Milano. Pepperidge Farm also plans to continue to rotate seasonal varieties of its Dessert Shop cookies, with Pumpkin Cheesecake and Caramel Apple varieties returning this fall.
Irene Chang Britt, SVP - Global Baking and Snacking and President - Pepperidge Farm said, “Our innovation plans are based on changes we are seeing in the macro-snacking environment, where there’s been a significant shift in people’s eating patterns. The number of people snacking three to four times a day or more has risen substantially with mini meals replacing traditional meal times. Pepperidge Farm has a broad spectrum of products to meet these consumers’ needs – from sandwich bread, rolls and baked crackers to sweet and indulgent treats.”
Getting Refreshed with V8 Juices
Campbell plans to introduce V8 V-Fusion Refreshers, a new thirst-quenching juice cocktail that offers a crisper, cleaner taste. V8 V-Fusion Refreshers juice cocktails are expected to be available in four delicious varieties, including Black Cherry Berry and Cranberry Grape.
To drive growth in specialty beverages such as energy drinks and kids juice boxes, Campbell is expanding its V8 V-Fusion + Energy beverage range by introducing two new diet varieties: Diet Strawberry Lemonade and Diet Cranberry Raspberry. Campbell is also rolling out new variety packs of V8 V-Fusion juice drink boxes for kids as well as a new grape variety. The planned launch of V8 Bloody Mary mix will enable consumers to enjoy the great taste of V8 100% vegetable juice as a mixer.
V8 Harvest juice will be the brand’s first entry in the rapidly-growing $12 billion packaged fresh category. This fresh 100% tomato vegetable juice was developed jointly by Campbell and Bolthouse Farms, which became part of Campbell in August 2012. V8 Harvest juice will be available in the refrigerated section of the retail store perimeter, where a growing number of consumers are shopping for fresh foods - particularly Millennials, a key demographic group for Campbell.
Campbell International
Luca Mignini, President - Campbell International, highlighted activities around the world with a focus on Australia and China.
In Australia, Campbell is focused on growing its iconic Arnott’s biscuit business, the company’s third-largest brand. In the upcoming fiscal year, Campbell will build on the success of this year’s Tim Tam Treat Packs, smaller-sized packages designed for “treating” occasions. The company will also focus on building V8 juices down under, where the brand has 90 percent awareness but only 12 percent household penetration. Campbell plans to continue to introduce new flavors, including a “light” V8 V-Fusion beverage and drive trial with advertising and in-store activation. Finally, the company will meet the home cooking trend with recipe development and advertising featuring an Australian celebrity chef for its Real Stock brand.
In China, Mignini noted that the pending acquisition of Kelsen Group will give Campbell a solid platform for growth in baked snacks.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company is a manufacturer and marketer of high-quality foods and simple meals, including soup and sauces, snacks and healthy beverages. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market-leading brands, including “Campbell’s,” “Pepperidge Farm,” “Arnott’s,” “V8,” “Bolthouse Farms” and “Plum Organics.” Through its corporate social responsibility program, the company strives to make a positive impact in the workplace, in the marketplace and in the communities in which it operates. Campbell 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.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect the company’s current expectations about the impact of its future plans and performance on sales, earnings, and margins. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions and estimates that could be inaccurate and which are subject to risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause the company’s actual results to vary materially from those anticipated or expressed in any forward-looking statement include (1) the impact of strong competitive responses to the company’s efforts to leverage its brand power in the market; (2) the impact of changes in consumer demand for the company’s products; (3) the risks associated with trade and consumer acceptance of the company’s initiatives; (4) the company’s ability to realize projected cost savings and benefits; (5) the company’s ability to manage changes to its business processes; (6) the practices and increased significance of certain of the company’s key trade customers; (7) the impact of fluctuations in the supply or costs of energy and raw and packaging materials; (8) the impact of portfolio changes, including the Plum Organics acquisition and the expected Kelsen Group acquisition; (9) the uncertainties of litigation; (10) the impact of changes in currency exchange rates, tax rates, interest rates, debt and equity markets, inflation rates, economic conditions and other external factors; (11) the impact of unforeseen business disruptions in one or more of the company’s markets due to political instability, civil disobedience, armed hostilities, natural disasters or other calamities; and (12) other factors described in the company’s most recent Form 10-K and subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any obligation or intent to update the forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
