After 155 years, Campbell is dropping the word soup from its name, symbolic of the company’s growth into snacks and other food categories. No worries, it will still make soup.
At its Investor Day Sept. 10 in New York City, Campbell’s management team reviewed progress against the company’s transformation and outlined plans for the next era of growth. Part of that transformation includes changing the name to The Campbell’s Company, subject to shareholder approval at the annual meeting of shareholders in November.
The speakers said the company has made significant progress in three key areas since 2019, when Mark Clouse took over as CEO:
* Transformed the portfolio: Shifted focus to advantaged core categories and geographies critical to fueling net sales and earnings growth, including the acquisition of Sovos Brands.
* Rebuilt the foundation: Taken significant steps in improving its execution and capabilities, touching nearly every aspect of the company, including assembling an exceptional leadership team, enhancing the culture and turning its supply chain into a competitive advantage.
* Delivered on commitments: Built trust by consistently delivering strong financial results, while also outperforming consumer packaged goods peers on many key performance indicators.
“For the last five years, we have been on a transformative journey to redefine our company,” said Clouse. “Our focused strategy has positioned us well and helped to solidify a foundation that has delivered consistent and dependable results. We are ready to turn the page and enter a new chapter where we build on Campbell’s transformed portfolio, strong team, and aligned and engaged culture with the goal to set the standard for performance in the food industry.”
Clouse is somehow succeeding using much the same playbook as his predecessor, Denise Morrison. She started moving the company away from soups with acquisitions such as Bolthouse Farms, Denmark's Kelsen Group, Plum Organics, Garden Fresh Gourmet and Pacific Foods of Oregon. Arguably the biggest and most transformative acquisition in the company’s history came on her watch, when the company spent nearly $5 billion in 2018 to acquire Snyder’s-Lance, a maker of salty snacks.
Morrison was suddenly retired in mid-2018. All of her acquisitions except Pacific Foods and Snyder’s-Lance were sold off by Clouse, who spent $2.7 billion buying Sovos Brands, which brought Campbell Rao’s premium pasta sauces and Michael Angelo’s frozen dinners … oh, and also Noosa yogurt, which is rumored to be on the selling block.
After going through a period of shrinkage, Campbell is now bigger than it’s ever been, we believe. Sales were nearly $8.3 billion in 2014 but shrank in the following three years. Sales for its fiscal 2024, which ended July 28, increased 3% to $9.6 billion, although earnings per share decreased to $1.89 compared to $2.85 per share last year.
Chris Foley, president of the snacks business, promised continued long-term growth and margin expansion in his division.
Mick Beekhuizen, president of the meals & beverages division, said his portfolio is better positioned than ever to meet consumers’ needs, and called the Sovos acquisition game-changing. He noted that soup remains an important part of the meals & beverages division but is now a smaller portion of the transformed portfolio.
