After 155 years in business, Campbell Soup Company announced it intends to change its name. It plans to drop the “Soup” and rebrand as The Campbell’s Company. This decision has many soup lovers scratching their heads, but it makes sense, as we’ll explain below.
Why is Campbell Soup Company changing its name?
Campbell Soup Company is changing its name to The Campbell’s Company to better reflect its diverse portfolio of brands and products. While most of us associate the company with its red-and-white clad soups (in particular chicken noodle tomato, and cream of mushroom), it owns a wide range of brands, including:
- Campbell’s (Soups)
- Pepperidge Farm (Breads, cookies, crackers, and desserts)
- Pace Foods (Salsa and sauces)
- Swanson (Broth, canned chicken, frozen dinners)
- Prego (Pasta sauce)
- Snyder’s-Lance (Chips, pretzels, popcorn, cookies, crackers)
So, the company offers more than just soup and wants to change the name to reflect that.
According to CNN, CEO Mark Clouse addressed the proposed change in a statement:
“This subtle yet important change retains the company’s iconic name recognition, reputation, and equity built over 155 years while better reflecting the full breadth of the company’s portfolio.”
However, the name change isn’t a done deal. It has to be approved by a shareholder vote at the company’s annual meeting in November.
Has Campbell Soup Company always gone by that name?
Campbell’s is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, but didn’t always go by that name. It was founded in 1869 as Anderson & Campbell by Joseph Campbell and Abraham Anderson. When Anderson left the partnership in 1876, the company’s name changed to Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company.
In 1896, for a two-year period, Campbell’s name was retired. This was reversed in 1898 when executive Herberton Williams convinced the company to adopt a carnelian red and white color scheme inspired by the Cornell University football team. Since then, the logo and design have remained largely the same, with only small changes throughout the years.
The name officially changed from the Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company to the Campbell Soup Company in 1922, and it has remained so for the past 102 years.
