CPB Overview

Dating back to 1869, Campbell Soup Company (CPB), better known as Campbell’s, was co-founded by Joseph A. Campbell and Abraham Anderson. Originally known as Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company, the earlier operations revolved around the company’s production of canned tomatoes, jellies, soups, vegetables, minced meats and condiments.

After a rather successful run in the preserves business, partner Anderson soon left Campbell to pursue his own fortune, leaving Campbell to reorganize and start a new company, Joseph Campbell & Co. In 1897, the company saw a breakthrough in their product when Dr. John Dorrance, a nephew of one of the new Campbell’s executives, joined the ranks and began developing new techniques for condensing soup by reducing the heaviest ingredient, water, by half.

With a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Ph.D. from Göttingen University in Germany, Dorrance would later become the president of Campbell Soup from 1914 to 1930, purchased the company from the Campbell family and turned the company into one of America’s greatest and longest-lasting brands.

Under the leadership of William Murphy, Campbell Soup soon became one of the largest companies in the world. Elected as the executive vice-president in 1949, and later president and CEO in 1953, Murphy took the company public in March 1970. Murphy also expanded the company’s brand portfolio that would include Pepperidge Farm's breads, cookies, and crackers, Franco-American's gravies and pastas, V8 vegetable juices, Swanson broths, and Godiva chocolates.

Headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, Campbell’s currently markets its products directly, as well as through broker and distributor arrangements. Its customers are comprised of mass discounters, retail food chains, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, drug stores and other retail, and commercial and non-commercial establishments.

Campbell’s operates in four very distinct business segments, U.S. Soup, Sauces, and Beverages; Baking and Snacking; International Soup, Sauces, and Beverages; and North America Foodservice.

Within the company’s U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages segment, Campbell’s includes a wide variety of condensed and ready-to-serve soups, Swanson broth and canned poultry, as well as Prego pasta sauce. Campbell’s also offers Pace Mexican sauce, Campbell’s Chunky chili, Campbell’s canned pasta, as well as canned gravies and beans. The company also includes items such as Campbell’s Supper Bakes meal kits, V8 juice and juice drinks and Campbell’s tomato juice.

The Baking and Snacking segment provides such food items as cookies, crackers, and bakery and frozen products throughout the United States. Inside the U.S. markets, Campbell’s provides name brand items from its most widely recognizable product-line, Pepperidge Farm.

On the international front, Campbell’s provides Arnott’s biscuits in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, and Arnott’s salty snacks in Australia. However, in May 2008, Campbell’s discontinued certain Australian salty snack food brands and assets.

As for Campbell’s North America Foodservice segment, it includes the Away From Home operations, which is primarily engaged in the distribution of company products. These would include such items as beverage products, specialty entrees, soups and other prepared foods. The segment also includes the distribution of Pepperidge Farm products, through various food service channels throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The final operating segment within the company is International Soup, Sauces and Beverages, which is involved in conducting business within Europe, Mexico, and Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and Canada. Items offered throughout these regions include the soup, sauce and beverage businesses.

In Europe, Campbell’s offers regional stores in Germany the company’s Erasco and Heisse Tasse brand soups and Liebig and Royco brand soups in France. In Belgium, Devos Lemmens mayonnaise and cold sauces and Campbell’s and Royco soups are offered.

Within the Asia-Pacific region, products such as Campbell’s soup and stock, Swanson broths and V8 beverages are provided for local and regional grocery chains. In Canada, the company offers Habitant and Campbell’s soups, Prego pasta sauce, V8 beverages and certain Pepperidge Farm products.

In recent developments within the company’s business model, Campbell’s sold their interests in the Godiva Chocolatier business in March 2008, while acquiring the Wolfgang Puck soup business from Country Gourmet Foods in July of that year.

Campbell’s Soup Company currently competes with the likes of publicly traded companies such as HJ Heinz Co. (HNZ), Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) and General Mills Inc. (GIS), as well as privately held companies like Unilever, Frito-Lay North America and Cargill Inc.

By BetterTrades