Campbell Soup Company (CPB) presented at the CAGNY (Consumer Analysts Group of New York) today in Boca Raton, FL. Management continues to execute the company’s strategies of expanding its iconic brands, motivating consumers to trade up to better tasting and more profitable products, making its products more available, and pursuing prudent acquisitions.

In response to the sub-prime crisis, consumers are beginning to eat out less and to cook at home more. Soup is one of the most affordable and nourishing family meals, but it is also a $1 billion business for Campbell’s. The company continues to expand its lower-sodium soups in order to improve the taste, nutrition, wellness, and, of course, sales and profitability. By the fall of 2009, Campbell will offer more than 90 lower sodium soups in the U.S.

Campbell’s has a strong new product line for the upcoming soup season. Management announced many product innovations, including Campbell’s original tomato soup with lower sodium sea salt added, 25 Campbell’s Healthy Request soups with sodium levels reduced by an additional 15%, and six Campbell’s V8 soups with reduced sodium. Campbell is also reducing the sodium content in all 6 Campbell’s V8 soups to 480 mg sodium per serving. In addition, a new Garden Vegetable Blend variety will be introduced in August. All of Campbell’s V8 soups have a full serving of vegetables in every bowl.

The recipe for Campbell’s original tomato soup has largely remained the same since its inception, but by adding lower sodium natural sea salt, along with proprietary flavor enhancements, Campbell is bringing the sodium content down 32% to the healthy level of sodium (defined by the U.S. government as 480 mg per serving). The soup will be available in August 2009.

Campbell’s Healthy Request soups will undergo a further sodium reduction, from 480 mg sodium to 410 mg sodium per serving. All 25 Healthy Request soups will have the American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Check mark. Also, Campbell will remove MSG from its top-selling varieties of Swanson Broth, which account for 70% of the company’s broth volume. Lastly, Campbell is introducing five new “light” versions (80 calories) of its condensed soups without added MSG.

By next year, the composition of Campbell’s soup portfolio will have 30% with a full serving of vegetables, 36% with only 80 calories per serving, and 50% without MSG.

On a personal side-note, one of the benefits of being a food analyst is being informed of new food products as they come to market. The taste of Campbell’s Select Gold Labels premium aseptic soups being re-launched under the V8 brand name, along with the Select Harvest soups, appear to live up to Campbell’s quest to improve the taste, nutrition and wellness of its soup line.

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