Campbell Soup Co. has scooped up Wolfgang Puck's
organic soup business from Country Gourmet Foods and entered into a licensing agreement with Wolfgang Puck Worldwide Inc.
The acquisition will extend Campbell's reach in the organic market, a higher-growth part of the food industry. The company has spent the last year working on a strategic
restructuring, including divestitures, and in May brought in
Tarkan Gurkan as vice president
of corporate development.
Campbell's CEO
Douglas R. Conant said, "Campbell must expand its role in the organic segment of the market. Combining Wolfgang's brand and reputation with Campbell's distribution and marketing capabilities creates the opportunity for significant growth."
Campbell is also in the midst of a low-sodium makeover for its signature soups. In
February the company announced a reduced-sodium line called "Campbell's Select Harvest." It may be able to use the Puck brand to boost its other organic products, which include V8 vegetable juice, Prego pasta sauce, Pace salsa and varieties of Swanson broth.
Campbell Soup competes with Health Valley, owned by Hain Celestial Group, and Progresso. Operating earnings are down in the third quarter compared with a year earlier,
according to a company release. Rising costs and underperforming overseas brands get the blame.
- Maria Woehr
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