Soup in the US

PROSPECTS

Natural attributes set to continue guiding soup

The value of including healthy ingredients is becoming clearer for companies in packaged food, as consumers prioritise healthy eating, and soup is no exception to this trend. Soup manufacturers increasingly focused on the inclusion of fresh vegetables and avoiding artificial ingredients, realising the importance of these approaches in performing well.

Frozen and chilled formats offer fresh opportunities for growth

As consumers shift to healthier eating habits that emphasise consuming fresh foods, frozen and chilled formats of soup, are experiencing a direct benefit from this trend. Chilled soup, dominated by private label, is starting to be a strong performer with surging growth.

Organic continues driving growth in unlikely places

The use of organic ingredients in soup production is becoming increasingly common, as consumers continue to choose organic ingredients over traditional ones as a result of their belief in their superior health profiles and concerns over environmental production. While shelf stable soup struggles more broadly, canned and other dry organic soup sales are nonetheless projected to experience continued strong growth in the coming years due solely to these organic components.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Campbell Soup’s leadership erodes as consumer preferences shift

In a category that traditionally has had one clear leader in Campbell Soup, shelf stable soup has largely gone the direction of Campbell’s, with its prospects intimately intertwined with the well-known brand. In this sense, penetration by new players has been fairly low for many years, with competition often being viewed as too fierce and too dominant to support new entrants.

Mergers and acquisitions guide successful strategy

As growth becomes increasingly difficult to achieve in packaged food and competition intensifies, many companies are increasingly seeking to optimise their portfolios by identifying fast-growing upstart food companies that are resonating well with consumers and offer the potential for further growth. In soup, this dynamic has taken hold with a number of deals that have yielded successful results.

Private label emerges as a present and future threat

Not always a powerful player in packaged food, private label has become a very strong competitor within chilled soup, leading the fast-growing in-demand category. With its in-store kitchens, many grocery retailers are able to freshly prepare soup every day without the need to add any preservatives to their product, resulting in a convenient and relatively inexpensive option for producing affordable items that are increasingly attractive to consumers.

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