Campbell Soup Co. warms to a fresh name
After more than 150 years in the business, Campbell Soup Co. plans to change its name to the Campbell’s Co. The food maker says it’s to better reflect its full range of brands, including Goldfish, Snyder’s of Hanover and Pepperidge Farm. It’s also partly because the prepared-soup business is not quite what it used to be, especially compared to snacks.
The change begs the age-old question: What’s in a name?
When someone says Campbell’s, here’s what Kim Whitler, a marketing professor at the University of Virginia, thinks of. “Soup. I think of being a little girl and watching the soup commercials,” Whitler said.
Others imagine that ad from the ‘90s that had a snowman eating chicken noodle and turning into a boy.
“Nothing melts away the cold like a delicious, hot bowl of Campbell’s soup.”
Campbell’s now wants people to associate its name with cookies and chips. Whitler said that as a manufacturer, it’s an important distinction to make for consumers, but especially for retailers and investors.
“They’re trying to send a message to the whole community of stakeholders that the brand is about a lot more than just soup,” Whitler said.
The name change could help Campbell’s, for instance, acquire other snack companies. John Stanton, a former consultant for Campbell’s, said with the word “soup” in the name, “you may not feel they have the expertise because they’re telling you they’re a soup company, and ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have snacks too.'”
The new boiled-down name, one that’s more generic and less specific, is a common step when a company grows, said Phil Davis, president of Tungsten Branding, a naming agency. Dunkin’ Donuts became Dunkin’. Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC.
“That’s just the natural evolution of branding,” Davis said.
When a company is new, its name needs to say what it sells. But that changes over time, according to Davis.
“The thing that defines you confines you,” Davis said. “It’s ironic because the thing that you want to get known for, you become known for. And then you divorce yourself of that.”
He said the risk of the Campbell’s divorce from soup is pretty low. After all, the red-and-white can is iconic, immortalized by artist Andy Warhol.
“I don’t think people are going to think they’ve abandoned soup by doing this,” Davis said. “But it does make the brand maybe a little bit more malleable to incorporate things that are, let’s just say, soup-adjacent.”
And what’s more soup-adjacent than crackers?
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
