Just Add Water: To Improve Sales, Campbell Remakes Its Condensed Soups

AP ^ | 12-26-2002 | Geoff Mulvihill

[dirtboy]

I have a nice big holiday ham bone waiting in the wings for Mama Leni's split pea soup

Yum. I like using both a ham bone and some smoked turkey wings.

[Cagey]

What happened with Reggie White? I seem to remember something about him being outspoken about his religious convictions. Was that a problem with Cambells?

[strela]

What a time for this story to appear. I've had a big batch of minestrone brewing all day long in the crockpot. I'll throw in the barley and garbanzos when I get home - goooooood eatin'. Puts anything inside a Campbell's can to shame.

[visualops]

Not just coffee, bacon used to be always 1 lb, now it's usually 12 oz for the same price, also ice cream packages are smaller. I guess they think we're too dumb to read the label and notice.
Maybe they still think we don't know what unit pricing is lol
Campbell's should take a hint- people buy the store brand because it's cheaper!
The soups aren't expensive per se, but compare a $1 pkg of balogna and a can of soup- which makes more lunches?
I can make a big pot of homemade soup for about $1.50, so why buy Campbell's?

[Focault's Pendulum]

(I think 99% of the diners in NJ are Greek owned) have great homemade pea soup which is always served with these huge croutons that are incredibly good.

That is an unbelievabably correct statistic. It's a little known fact that if you affect a Greek accent when entering a NJ Diner...you get an automatic %10 discount.

Except for the Dover Diner on Rt 166 in Toms River, which boasts the best food sign ever seen.....

"Eat Here Or We'll Both Starve"

[dirtboy]

What happened with Reggie White? I seem to remember something about him being outspoken about his religious convictions. Was that a problem with Cambells?

I believe he made a religious comment about gays, and Campbell's dropped him as a frontman. Maybe someone can confirm that.

[Cagey]

Lately, some of the coffee companies (Maxwell House for one) are going back to the full 1LB cans. I believe they were one of the first packagers of "food" products to use the same size container and have less volume inside. Consumers have gotten smarter in the last ten or so years. Lazier, but smarter.

[Cagey]

LOL ..What a great sign!

If you haven't noticed, the next time you pass the Tick Tock diner on Route 3 in Clifton notice the clock on the facade. It's from the original diner that was replaced about 12 years ago and on the face of the clock it says "Eat Heavy".

[ricpic]

Progresso is a BIG step up from Campbell.

[pray4liberty]

Maybe they ought to lower the price. Campbell's soup isn't really that cheap. I suppose the dollars they pay to Olympic ice-skating stars to give the pitch for them has something to do with it.

[okie01]

"After all, I finally did figure out a way to get decent Mexican food in Pennsylvania - married a Mexican woman from Colorado and dragged her back here..."

Congratulations are in order. For the matrimony and for the inventive solution to your culinary shortfall.

There is nothing better than a Mexican breakfast. You probably start the day two miles ahead of everybody else in Philly...

[dix]

People can say all they want, but for my money Campbell's Cream Of Mushroom is one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century because you can use it in recipes, or as soup. When I was a child in the South who grew up on meat and potatoes mushrooms was a pretty exotic thing to me. I almost always buy the house brand, but I tried the house Mushroom Soup a few years ago, and I was disappointed. Since you folks say it is now better I will give it another shot

[Focault's Pendulum]

If you haven't noticed, the next time you pass the Tick Tock

I remember the old Tick Tock.....As a kid we'd pass it on the way to Rut's Hutt.

[dirtboy]

Congratulations are in order. For the matrimony and for the inventive solution to your culinary shortfall.

Hey, it took me MONTHS to recover from that BBQ/Mexican food thread years ago. That demanded action to correct...

There is nothing better than a Mexican breakfast. You probably start the day two miles ahead of everybody else in Philly...

Yep - although I'm actually living in the boonies of Pennsylvania now. Had homemade red chili (made with real New Mexico peppers) with scrambled eggs cooked with lightly fried corn tortillas for Christmas breakfast. Yum.

[k2blader]

The alphabet soup, for example, now has more 40 percent letters and the vegetable chunks are crisper.

This is lovely indeed. Tho' better for laughs than for sales, methinks. :-)

All kidding aside, Campbell's alphabet soup has been a comfort food when I've had colds. Also, Campbell's Chunky soup line is actually pretty palatable.

[Cagey]

As a kid we'd pass it on the way to Rut's Hutt.

Ahhhh, Jersey dining at it's finest. Deep fried hot dogs and Frenchy Gravy! And after you've eaten you come out to find all those seagulls in the parking lot do more than just eat. Time to go to the car wash.

And then, there are Itlian Hot Dogs from Newark.

[FourPeas]

Here is an article from Focus on the Family.

[gnarledmaw]

I just went to their website and sent them a much longer version of your complaints. In fact, If they go the "crispy & clear" route then they will lose some of the customer base that they presently have.

[Cagey]

Thanks for the refresher.

[Focault's Pendulum]

And after you've eaten you come out to find all those seagulls in the parking lot do more than just eat. Those would have been the meadowlands species...Ornery bastards aren't they? I understand they're related to the Keansburg flock of clam smashers.