Campbell's Select Harvest Soups Top 2009 IRI New Product Pacesetters List

This marks the second time in three years that Campbell Soup Company has topped the IRI list. In 2007 Campbell's reduced sodium soups held the number one food and beverage spot.

24 Mar 2010 --- Campbell's Select Harvest soups were ranked the top new food and beverage product of 2009, according to a report released by Information Resources Inc. (IRI). IRI's annual New Product Pacesetters report showcases the most innovative and successful new products of the year in the consumer packaged goods industry. According to the IRI report, Campbell's Select Harvest soups generated $202 million in sales in its first year on the market.

This marks the second time in three years that Campbell Soup Company has topped the IRI list. In 2007 Campbell's reduced sodium soups held the number one food and beverage spot.

Campbell's Select Harvest soups are the first from the company to feature a label with a clean and simple design, highlighting a short, familiar list of ingredients. They were created after extensive market research that asked women what they looked for when choosing ready-to-serve soups. 

In focus groups, women said they wanted a nutritious soup with the ingredients they would use if they were making soup at home, such as 100 percent white meat chicken, farm-grown vegetables and natural sea salt. They also expressed what kind of ingredients they did not want in their soup-like ingredients they could not pronounce, high fructose corn syrup and MSG.

"Select Harvest is a truly differentiated product. Until we launched it, only niche products could deliver anything close to the kind of soup that women would make themselves," said Geoff Jackson, Director, Campbell's Shopper and Event Marketing, who was the Senior Brand Manager for the launch of Select Harvest soups. "From our research we realized that women mistakenly thought this kind of soup was already available to them in the general marketplace. We had to show them what Select Harvest soups offered and draw more attention to the back of the label-then we let the labels speak for themselves."

The launch of more than 40 Campbell's Select Harvest soups, including new Light varieties, was supported by a significant marketing campaign that included TV, extensive print advertising including full-page ads in newspapers nationwide and in targeted magazines, in-store communication, location-based sampling in health clubs and online. 

"Our launch activities generated national attention and stimulated trial for the new brand, exceeding our expectations," said Michael Barkley, Vice President, Campbell's Ready-to-Serve Soups. "Now that Select Harvest has broken through in the marketplace, our follow-up marketing campaign focuses on the simplicity and quality of our ingredients to help further build the Select Harvest brand."

This year Campbell has expanded the line of Select Harvest soups to include varieties that are 100 percent natural as well as Mediterranean-inspired varieties that showcase the flavorful and healthful ingredients that are core components of the Mediterranean diet, such as vegetables, whole grains and extra virgin olive oil. The soups are available in cans and microwaveable bowls in supermarkets and club stores nationwide.