Surpassing the impossible... Tomato, Chicken Noodle, Cream of Mushroom — Campbell's iconic posse of condensed soups is back in action. Campbell Soup stock jumped 10% after expectations-beating 1% sales growth — That's fantastic, considering US soup sales for Campbell have fallen 8 of the past 9 years. Some things to slurp on:
- Pantry-staples like canned soup are a hot commodity as coronavirus-fearing shoppers stockpile non-perishables.
- Demand for Campbell's products has grown, both in-store and online. Now, Campbell is increasing soup production to prep for more demand.
- Campbell has also been investing in better ingredients and more hard-hitting soup marketing (advertising costs rose 7% in the quarter).
Millennials are soup-ing now... The CEO credited the surprise sales from "younger households." Apparently, he was surprised: “Frankly, this is a trend that many believed was not possible” (including him).
Millennial tastes are growing up (kind of)... In 2020, a Millennial is anyone aged 24 to 39. As we become heads of households and families, our biz-shifting powers grow. Maybe Millennials' juice-cleanse-loving, acai-bowl-scarfing ways are evolving as they transition to buying food for families, not just themselves. Managers should pay attention.