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Campbell Soup Company reported strong growth in its latest quarter, with the company raising their forecasts heading into the new year. All told, revenue jumped 15% compared to last year, despite their sales volumes falling by 1% – implying a substantial number of price rises through the company’s extensive portfolio.
The food firm’s CEO, Mark Clouse, ascribed the strong showing to consumers "cutting back on out of home eating" and moving away from ‘more expensive grocery categories’. A similar narrative has been seen across the rest of "big snack" — companies like Kellogg, Pepsi Co. and Kraft have all outperformed this year.
Indeed, Campbell these days is much more than just soup. Through various acquisitions, over many decades, the company has built a huge snack and meal business with brands including Pepperidge Farm, Pinnacle Foods, Prego pasta sauce and teens' favorite snack Goldfish.
Although the company is having a solid year, Campbell Soup Co. hasn’t exactly been a growth story. In the last 30 years revenue growth has averaged a pretty glacial 1% — meaning that, once adjusted for inflation, Campbell Soup Co.’s revenues have actually been declining in real terms.
