Campbell to Sell Baby Food Line to Sun-Maid

April 1, 2021
Campbell Soup Co. is selling Plum Organics, its baby-food line, to Sun-Maid Growers of California, the companies announced March 31.

Campbell Soup Co. is selling Plum Organics, its baby-food line, to Sun-Maid Growers of California, the companies announced March 31.

The deal is expected to close this spring. Terms were not disclosed.

The Plum Organics line includes baby food and snacks. Plum was started in 2007 and was acquired by Campbell in 2013.

Campbell’s “Other Simple Meals” segment, which includes Plum products as well as sauces like Prego, had sales of $1.18 billion in Campbell’s last fiscal year, which was about 14% of Campbell’s total sales. That segment was up 9% over last year. However, in 2018, Campbell reported a “non-cash impairment charge” against the Plum trademark of $54 million, because “sales and operating performance were well below expectations due in part to competitive pressure and reduced margins,” the company stated in its annual report.

Baby food has been the target of a big recent controversy over levels of arsenic and other heavy metals. In a congressional report that detailed high levels of heavy metals in many mainstream baby food products, Campbell and others were rebuked for not voluntarily supplying data on heavy-metal levels in their products.

“Plum is a natural fit for the Sun-Maid family given our expertise, leadership and rapid growth in healthy snacking, along with our strong emotional connection with family households,” Harry Overly, CEO and president of Sun-Maid Growers of California, said in a statement.

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