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Top executives at 155-year-old Campbell Soup Company have revealed plans to change the firm's name to ‘The Campbell's Company’, removing ‘Soup’.

Campbell’s chief executive and president Mark Clouse said: “This subtle yet important change retains the company’s iconic name recognition, reputation and equity built over 155 years while better reflecting the full breadth of the company’s portfolio".

The move aims to better reflect Campbell's growing product line, which currently also includes sauces, snacks and beverages. While canned soup remains a key part of the Campbell business, the company has sought to adapt to a changing market by acquiring other businesses such as Rao’s sauces maker, Sovos Brands, which it acquired in March for $2.7 billion.

“For the last five years, we have been on a transformative journey to redefine our company,” Clouse continued. “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 of setting the standard for performance in the food industry.”

Investors are set to vote on the name change at the company's annual meeting in November this year.

Strategic growth and innovation

As part of its strategy to set a new standard for performance, the company has introduced a ‘new long-term growth algorithm’ that aims to increase organic net sales by 2 to 3%, achieve adjusted EBIT growth of 4 to 6% and deliver adjusted EPS growth of 7 to 9% through fiscal 2027.

The company plans to fuel this growth by leveraging "sustainable growth on topline and a variety of areas for division-specific and enterprise initiatives to drive faster bottom line and margin expansion, including a new $250 million enterprise cost savings programme through fiscal 2028”.

Focus on diversification and market position

Mick Beekhuizen, president of meals and beverages, noted that soup remains an important part of the division but is now a smaller portion of the transformed portfolio.

He said: “Our Meals & Beverages transformation story is far from complete, as we challenge ourselves to unlock the potential of our portfolio of iconic and distinctive brands. We intend to set the standard for performance in the centre store through our compelling consumer engagement and exciting flavour-forward innovation, with Rao’s strengthening and solidifying our potential and elevating our overall portfolio.”

Chris Foley, president of Campbell’s snacks division, emphasised the importance of the snacks division. He stated: “We expect to continue to grow these advantaged core businesses by pursuing best-in-class innovation and unlocking the full potential from our advantaged distribution network”. He added that the strategy aims "to deliver margin expansion while making the necessary investments to fuel growth for the future in a sustainable manner”.

Investor implications

Carrie Anderson, Campbell’s CFO, outlined the investor proposition. She said: “With a refreshed long-term algorithm, we have a clear roadmap for multi-year top- and bottom-line expansion. Our investor proposition is compelling, with strong and growing internal cash flow generation, providing multiple paths to create shareholder value.”

Campbell was the first company to sell canned soup more than a century ago. The product served as inspiration for one of American artist Andy Warhol's most iconic pop art works.

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