Soup is good food, but apparently not so great when it comes to branding these days.
Campbell’s Soup has decided to change its name, dropping its flagship product from its branding after 155 years. The company plans to ask shareholders to approve a name change to “The Campell’s Company” (from the Campbell Soup company) to reflect its increasingly diverse lineup of products.
It’s a small change that most people won’t notice (even the soup can logos just say Campbell’s these days), but it’s a way for CEO Mark Clouse to put his stamp on the company he has run for the past five years.
“For the last five years, we have been on a transformative journey to redefine our company,” Clouse said in a statement. “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.”
Roughly half of Campbell’s sales come from non-soup products, ranging from Goldfish crackers to Kettle chips. The company also has a growing sauce business, including Prego and the recent acquisition of the Rao’s brand for $2.7 billion.
The company has been increasingly focused on the U.S. market, shedding both its Australian brand Arnott’s and the Danish baked goods company Kelsen in the past several years. Last year it also sold Emerald Nuts.
The name change is part of a forward-looking strategy for the company, which slightly upgraded its organic sales growth targets. Soup remains an important part of its Meals & Beverage division, Campbell’s said, but will be a smaller part of the new portfolio.
Shareholders will vote on the proposed name change in November.
