Whatever Happened to Chicken Noodle?
I was recently grabbing a quick lunch downtown, and thought soup might be a healthier option. Imagine my surprise, when the
choices turned out to be Cream of Cauliflower, Cheddar Cheese, and Cheeseburger Chowder. That's right, a white, creamy soup,
with chunks of yesterday's broken up cheeseburger patties, minus the buns.
When did soup go so low brow, and why can't we be satisfied with a classic, like tomato or vegetable?
Reinventing the Wheel
Do you remember when everyone had an 8-track player? OK, how about cassettes, then? Finally, along came CDs, and you got
to rebuy everything you once owned on albums, but gave up for 8-tracks, and then for cassettes.
The goal of many product manufacturers is to sell more and more. But how do you do that, when market penetration is already at
saturation levels? Well, like the continuing evolution of music platforms, the food industry is concentrating on innovative packaging,
new ingredients, and more convenience.
What do you do when every home in America already buys one of the staples of the industry, in this case, soup? Most consumers
surveyed respond that they usually have at least one can of soup in their kitchen cupboards, and have eaten soup at home within the
past month. Faced against such odds, the soup industry is faced with the daunting task of selling even more of their product to
consumers who are perfectly happy with their current levels of consumption.
No Brain Necessary
Leave it to the Darren Stevens of America to devise ways to convince you that your soup buying habits aren't acceptable, after all.
An easy solution has been ready-to-serve products, with their promise of added convenience. The sales of these products have gone
up about 16 percent in the last couple of years, overtaking the sales of previous champions, condensed soups. Adding water seems
to be just too hard for many consumers, it seems, so the old stand-by, Campbell's needed to find new ways to sell their product.
With a stalled economy, and more people eating at home, Campbell's has entered the convenience market with Soup To Go. These
microwaveable soups come in containers shaped like coffee mugs for those on the run, and fit into most car cup holders.
Resealable bottles of soup, pull-top lids, and those individual bowls have gotten the attention of consumers who apparently are much
too busy to cook, but not too busy to browse the soup aisles for a soup that cooks in one minute.
Fresh and Clear
Also getting attention, is the advent of clear jars, often refrigerated, which are believed to lend an air of freshness to the product,
which, of course, still may be chock full of preservatives. These clear bottles and jars allow consumers to see what are being referred
to as 'value added' soups. That means the ingredients are of a higher quality or more unusual. For example, consumers can see
actual bacon chunks, rather than just tasting added bacon flavor.
New, New, New
Some of the newest trends in soup flavors are Roasted Garlic, Spiced Butternut Squash, Caribbean Mango Soup, Butternut
Squash with Granny Smith Apples, and Pan-Dripped Chicken. Ethnic soup varieties are also taking up more shelf space, as they
have a growing appeal beyond that soup's specific ethnic group, as mainstream consumers seek bolder, more unique flavors.
Improved, Improved, Improved
Along with the new flavors, buyers are looking for added nutrition, like extra vitamin C is one nutrient expected to make its way
into soups in the near future. Manufacturers are also looking into less obvious choices, like echinacea, although some regulatory
issues may hinder progress.
You might scoff, but apparently these small changes are enough to send happy consumers into a buying frenzy. When Progresso
first hit shelves, Campbell's Chunky soup line was faced with some stiff competition. Now, even smaller companies, like Covent
Garden are finding themselves with a comfortable chunk of the market share.
America Wants You …
To Eat Soup
That means the old, familiar cans of condensed soups have to fight back even harder. Look for ad campaigns stressing nostalgia
and old-fashioned comfort. A perfect fit for these patriotic times.
Another way to sell soup is to market it as anything but what it really is. Remember that onion dip your mom made when you were
a kid? It's really just sour cream mixed into a package of dry onion soup mix from Lipton's. Other dry soup brands are hoping for
similar success, and are trying other applications. For example, Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix is, like Lipton's, a classic among dip
makers, in this case, spinach.
It's a Living
Believe it or not, people actually make a living tracking the sales of Bouillon. Apparently they have dropped 8.3% since 1997.
It seems that, with people spending less and less time preparing the meals they eat, bouillon, which is a big part of time-intensive
meals, isn't making it into shopping carts. And, if folks are cooking with broth, they favor the canned varieties more and more.
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