Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J., announced a strategic reorganization designed to better position the company to capitalize on the rapidly changing food industry landscape, while more closely aligning the business with the company’s three growth strategies—optimize the value of the core; increase health and well-being food, beverages and snacks; and accelerate distribution and new business models.
This new structure organizes Campbell’s core business operations, including its soup, simple meals, shelf-stable beverages and snacks portfolios, under the leadership of Luca Mignini as chief operating officer.
Campbell will create a new Accelerator unit to continue to expand in faster-growing spaces and invest in high-growth areas. As part of the reorganization, Campbell Fresh will become part of the Accelerator unit to realize the growth potential of the packaged fresh category. The new unit will also be responsible for long-term innovation, small brand incubation, future consumer experiences, e-commerce and new distribution models.
“The transformative Snyder’s-Lance acquisition served as a catalyst for us to re-examine how to best organize the company for increased emphasis on execution and profitable growth,” says Denise Morrison, president and CEO. “This strategic reorganization—focused on our core, the integration of recent acquisitions, the Campbell Fresh turnaround and long-term growth—provides the right structure for us to optimize the value of our businesses today, while creating future-oriented capabilities. It will simplify our operations, improve our execution and enable us to allocate resources with a greater focus on profitable growth.”
New Accelerator unit focuses on faster-growing spaces and future growth
The Accelerator will consist of the Campbell Fresh business, the company’s existing digital and e-commerce unit and a network of cross-functional teams that can be rapidly deployed against key growth priorities. It will include capabilities and functions spanning strategy, innovation, consumer experience and new distribution models.
“Campbell’s Accelerator unit is designed to drive growth and build critical capabilities with an agile and dynamic operating model that, over time, will expand to other parts of the company and become the way we work in the future,” Morrison says.
The company also initiated an external search for a chief acceleration officer to lead the new unit and fast-track transformation and future growth opportunities. The Accelerator unit will include:
- Consumer experience, responsible for identifying the foresights, insights, culinary and consumer trends across Campbell categories that will drive future growth and deliver modern marketing capabilities and services.
- Long-term innovation, responsible for filling the innovation funnel by creating new categories, product platforms and business models. This group will also include Campbell's science and technology organization.
- Small brand and startup incubation, responsible for leading the creation, incubation and development of small brands and startups, as well as the identification and cultivation of external partnerships.
Campbell’s established digital and e-commerce unit will become part of the Accelerator. The team will continue to lead enterprise e-commerce strategy and capabilities, scale digital marketing efforts and help develop more agile and flexible distribution models.
Campbell Fresh will also become part of the Accelerator unit to maintain focus on turning the business around and achieve growth rates consistent with the packaged fresh category. Campbell Fresh includes Bolthouse Farms portfolio of refrigerated beverages and salad dressings; Garden Fresh Gourmet salsa, hummus, dips and tortilla chips; the U.S. refrigerated soup business; and fresh carrots and carrot ingredients.
