The Food Industry's "Dynamic, Disruptive, and Transformative Time"

Stephen Hughes, CEO of the natural foods firm Boulder Brands, tells Fortune the industry is going through "the most dynamic, disruptive, and transformational time" he's seen during 37 years in the food business.

Boulder owns brands like Smart Balance, Earth Balance, and Glutino. His brands are part of the disruption. Increasingly, consumers are reading food labels with great care and concluding that less is more--less processing, more nutritional value.

Brand trust is vital in this brave new world of fresher, healthier packaged foods. No wonder Heinz is fighting mad over Boulder Brands' plan to put its Smart Balance name on frozen foods. Heinz owns the Smart Ones brand of frozen foods and objects to what it sees as a close similarity of brands that might confuse consumers.

A few months ago, the CEO of Campbell Soup commented on "the mounting distrust of so-called Big Food, the large food companies and legacy brands on which millions of consumers have relied on for so long." Alas for Campbell Soup, sales of its core product are stagnant to slowly dropping. But happily, the company's acquisition of Bolthouse Farms fresh produce and Plum Organics is evidence of its growing experience with trusted natural foods brands.

Interestingly, mainstream supermarket chain Kroger owns what appears to be the largest natural-food brand in the country: Simple Truth, barely 2 years old and already ringing up more than $1.2 billion in annual sales. That's a lot of sales and a lot of brand trust--and a lot of disruption caused by a major retailer that distributes major packaged-foods products.

Campbell's Soup Revamps Marketing Recipe

These are difficult times for Campbell's, which is struggling through lower consumption of canned soups and changes in consumer lifestyles and tastes. The company's traditional condensed soups in red-and-white cans may be iconic, but they also may seem old-fashioned to Millennial buyers who seek spicier flavors and either speedier preparation or fresh, home-made meals.

Those accustomed to microwave meals or add-boiling-water noodle soup may not necessarily be interested in other types of soups. And the growing interest in home-made meals--fueled, in part, by the foodie culture, including food and cooking programs, web sites, blogs, and more--is also eroding sales of canned foods. Yet convenience is an important factor: canned soup is shelf-stable, quick and easy to make on the stove or in the microwave.

The Chunky line of soups target men, in particular, which is why Campbell's has a sponsorship relationship with the NFL. Above, a photo of Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks and his mother, who appear in "Mama's Boy" TV commercials for Chunky soup; among other NFL players and their moms who appear in Chunky commercials are Demarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys and Todd Heap of the Baltimore Ravens.

Campbell is introducing hundreds of new products each year to find the most appealing and enduring. It's also diversifying its product portfolio through acquisitions, as part of its marketing plan to reverse weak results.

Meanwhile, Campbell of Canada is updating the look of its heat-and-eat soup labels to stand out on the shelf and communicate contents to busy shoppers. The label redesign was based on eye-tracking research and is intended to "sell from the shelf" as part of the marketing plan.

“The number one objective is breaking through and being very distinct at shelf-level and having the consumer be able to either very quickly find the variety they’re looking for, or discover a new variety,” explains the senior director of marketing.

Soup's on: Stirring Up MSG Worries

clipped from www.brandweek.com clipped from www.adweek.com

Campbell Soup and Progresso are having an ad war over MSG. According to BrandWeek, Campbell started the spat with an ad saying that Progresso's soups have MSG. Progresso fired back with an ad saying it was removing MSG from some soups and that MSG is an ingredient in many Campbell's soups.

The fight's not over yet: Both sides are busy reformulating soups to drop MSG--and telling the world that the other has more soups with MSG.

Fighting over MSG in the ad pages of the NY Times is costly. Does it work? Or will it confuse consumers and send them into the arms of other soup alternatives?

IMHO, this fight will prompt health-conscious buyers to read soup labels much more carefully. That's a good thing. How many Campbell's or Progresso soups have or don't have MSG isn't the real point. Which of those soups do buyers usually buy? What are their alternatives in the marketplace? Competition is M-M-M good and this actually puts the focus on choice and competition. Soup's on!