Introduction
The Campbell Soup Company is the largest manufacturing and marketing business house of canned soups and other related products in the USA. It has been reported that the company operates in more than 120 countries and has been trading in the New York stock Exchange. The headquarters of the company is situated in Camden, New Jersey. Apart from Campbell’s, the brand also owns and trades under various brands such as Erasco, Pepperidge Farm, Arnott’s, Pace and Royco. Due to the scope of this report, the article would pertain to businesses related only to soups. (Pieper, 177-194)
Food Products
Under the soup segment, the Campbell soup Company produces and markets various types of healthy, nutritious soups. The most popular selections are cream and mushroom, chicken noodle and tomato soups. All the above soups are available in other variants such as Campbell’s lower sodium soups, select harvest soups, kid’s soups, chunky soups, microwavable soups and condensed soups. Apart from the above, the company also produces and markets other food products such as pasta, cookies, crackers et al that are marketed under the aforementioned brands. The company is also one of the largest producers and marketers of juice beverages and snacks, sauces and biscuits. The company’s brand Arnott’s biscuits are quite a rage down under in Australia. (NYT, 1)
History of the Company
The company was first set up by Joseph A Campbell and Abraham Anderson in 1869 and was originally known as the Joseph a Campbell Preserve company. After Anderson left in 1896, Joseph along with one of his nephews Dr. John T Dorrance started the Joseph A Campbell & Co. in 1897. It was due to the efforts of Dorrance, a talented chemist and an MIT graduate that condensed soups produced and marketed by Campbell’s, became so popular. In the year 1900, the product had competed and won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition and the image of that accomplishment is still etched on the cans.
The company grew to newer heights under the leadership of William Beverly Murphy. In 1949, he was elected as the vice president of the company and operated as both president and CEO of the company from 1953 to 1972. He was instrumental in making the companies go public and acquired other brands such as Pepperidge Farm’s, Franco American, V8, Swanson and Godiva’s. By doing so, he ventured into other markets such as crackers, vegetable juices, chocolates, cookies, bread and pasta. In 2008, the company acquired Wolfgang Puck soups business owned by Country Gourmet Foods. In 2007, the company was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for their efforts to minimize sodium content in their packaged foods by Blood Pressure Canada. (Answer, 1)
Financial Overview
In the fiscal year, which ended on July 2008, the company registered a sale of 7,998.0 million usd, and a growth of 1.7 percent in the current year. The net income was calculated to 1,165.0 million usd reflecting an income growth of 36.4 percent. The balance sheet, cash flow and income statements for the last fiscal year are attached with the appendix to help investors and shareholders in their future dealings in the company. The company employs 19,400 people as of July 2008 and has registered an employee growth of 13.8 percent. (Answer, 1)
Contact Details
Interested investors, consumers and suppliers may contact the company by mail at the following address:
Campbell Soup Company
1 Campbell Place Camden,
NJ 08103-1799,
NJ Tel. 856-342-4800,
Toll Free 800-257-8443,
Fax 856-342-3878.
Interested parties may also log on to www.campbellsoupcompany.com or www.campbellsoup.com to know more about the company and its range of products.
Key Officials
- CEO, President and Director: Douglas R Conant
- Chairperson: Harvey Golub
- President, Campbell International: Larry S. McWilliams
- President, Asia Pacific: Mark Alexander
- Senior Vice President, Public affairs: Jerry S. Buckley
- President, Pepperidge Farm: Patrick J. Callaghan
- President, Emerging Markets: Chris Delaney
- Senior Vice President, Global Research, Development, and Quality: George Dowdie
- Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer: M. Carl Johnson, III
- Senior Vice President, Law and Government Affairs: Ellen Oran Kaden (Campbellsoupcompany, 1)
Competitors
Even though the company is the leading player in the market, it does face competition from other firms such as Heinz, General Mills and Kraft Foods, ConAgra industries, and Nestle. The most important of them is Heinz or H.J.Heinz Company.
Heinz’s Business Structure and Products
Though ketchup happens to be the flagship product of the company, it produces condiments, sauces, frozen foods, beans, infant food, pasta meals and several processed food items. The principal brands of the company include the previously mentioned ketchup, Boston Market, Lea & Perrins sauces, Ore-Ida frozen potatoes, Weight Watchers foods and T.G.I. Friday’s. (Answer, 1)
Financial Overview
In the fiscal year, which ended on April 2008, the company registered a sale of 10,070.8 million usd, and a growth of 11.9 percent in the current year. The net income was calculated to 844.9 million usd reflecting an income growth of 7.5 percent. The number of employees in the company is 32,500 as of April 2008 reflecting an employee growth rate of 1.5 percent. (Answer, 1)
Key Officials
- The Chairman, President and CEO: William R. Johnson
- Executive Vice President and CFO: Arthur B. (Art) Winkle black
Nestle’s Business Structure and Products
This company is a leading producer of food, dealing mainly with frozen and packaged foods such as soups. The soup segment is represented by the company’s other well-known brand Maggi which also markets and produces other eatables such as instant noodles. Even though Maggi has good market, presence it is still not sufficient to threaten the market share of Campbell’s. Nestle is also an international brand and trades in a number of countries. It would be prudent to note that the company has a major market presence in emerging markets such as India where Campbell does not have enough presence. This can be a cause for concern because larger economies such as India and China have been virtually untapped by Campbell’s but Nestle is doing brisk business there. (Answer, 1)
Financial Overview
In the fiscal year, which ended on December 2007, the company registered a sale of 95,463.2 million usd, and a growth of 18.3 percent in the current year. The net income was calculated to 10,102.7 million usd reflecting an income growth of 25.1 percent. The number of employees in the company is 276,000 reflecting an employee growth rate of 4.2 percent. (Answer, 1)
Key Officials
- The Chairman: Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
- Executive Vice President, CTO, and Head of Innovation, Technology, and Research and Development: Werner J. Bauer
- CEO: Flavorings, Spices & Other Ingredients
Even though the above companies are market leaders in their own right, they are all placed after Campbell’s in the soup segment and a company, which has great historical and moral standards. (Answer, 1)
Works Cited:
Answer; Campbell soup company; www.answers.com; 2008; Web.
Answer; Heinz; www.answers.com; 2008; Web.
Answer; Data; www.answers.com; 2008; Web.
Answer; Nestle; answers.com; 2008; Web.
Campbellsoupcompany; Executive Team; campbellsoupcompany.com; 2008; Web.
NYT; Campbell soup company; nytimes.com; 2008; Web.
Pieper, Joy Rickman & Diane M Barrett; Effects of organic and conventional production systems on quality and nutritional parameters of processing tomatoes; Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture; Volume 89, Issue 2, 2009, Pages: 177-194
Appendixes
- Quarterly Income statements for 2008 for Campbell’s
- Quarterly Balance sheet for 2008
- Quarterly Cash flow statements for 2008