Campbell Soup Sales Keep Steaming Along During Pandemic

For many more Americans than usual, COVID-19 woes mean that “soup’s on!” Now, the Campbell Soup Company’s top executive predicts that his company’s products will keep moving right off the shelves, even as U.S. lockdowns ease.

When the COVID-19 crisis hit, consumers hunkered down by stocking up on Campbell Soup products, leaving many shelves bare. As reported by PYMNTS, Campbell’s announced in March that it was ordering more ingredients in an attempt to get ahead of increased demand for its soups, sauces and snacks.

The company said that sales of its broths, chowders and soups rose 35 percent in its fiscal third-quarter earnings (ending last month). CEO Mark Clouse said Campbell’s is set to keep steaming right ahead.

“Even if consumption is a bit down, I would expect shipments to outrun that as we replenish inventory levels in our retailers,” he told CNBC on June 3 (Wednesday).

Campbell’s was one of the companies that got a welcome jolt to its bottom line as consumers stocked up at the supermarket during the early phase of the pandemic lockdown. Sales have maintained momentum as more people looked for cheap and easy meals – good business conditions for Campbell’s sales.

“We do expect the stickiness, if you will, of these behaviors to continue moving forward,” said Clouse.

At the start of the pandemic, he noted that Campbell’s was seeing sales pick up “rapidly at both traditional retailers, and online especially. We are seeing demand pick up on a pretty broad set of channels, not in one particular area.”

That meant Campbell’s had to work very closely with its supply chain partners to step up its orders. Soups, snacks and Prego spaghetti sauce tend to be the big sellers during natural disasters. At the time, Clouse noted that the company was focused on making sure it could meet the increased demand for those types of products.