Millennials—those between the ages of 18 to 34—now account for 25% of the U.S. population, according to Forbes, but what really matters is the amount of money this generation spends. Campbell Soup puts the group’s total spending power at $300 billion annually, enough to make any packaged goods company stand up and take notice.
Millennials are different from Baby Boomers. As a group, they tend look at food as a source of adventure and entertainment, and they are less likely than older consumers to see ethnic foods, like Indian or Asian, as exotic. Millennials grew up with ethnic foods and regard them as more routine than unusual or exotic.
This is the backdrop for the soup category, a market that booked a new product launch decline of 4.3% in 2012, says Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics database of new products. However, what the year lacked in raw numbers, it more than made up in aggressive new launches aimed at Millennial consumers and more.
Leading the charge was standard-bearer Campbell Soup, which is pinning future hopes on its new Go Soup line. Aimed squarely at Millennials, Go Soups are ethnic with unusual flavors, like Chicken Quinoa with Poblano Chilies and Moroccan Style Chicken with Chickpeas. Go Soup also is priced upscale, with suggested retails of around $2.99 per soup, nearly triple the going rate.
Go Soup signals a sea change in soup packaging. Gone are Andy Warhol’s favorite metal soup cans; Go Soup’s 14oz stand-up pouches are eye-catching and microwavable. The pouches even are equipped with “Cool Touch” thumbprint tabs that prevent burned fingers when handling the heated package.
Just to show that Go Soup was no “one-off,” Campbell also went upscale with new Gourmet Bisques, packaged in paperboard cartons. Golden Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato Tomatillo and Thai Tomato Coconut are three flavors offered, blending healthy vegetables and trendy flavors.
Butternut squash, in fact, has quietly become one of the hottest flavors in soup. In 2012, butternut squash surged to a tie for the 10th most popular soup flavor, up from a tie for 35th in 2011, per Product Launch Analytics. Hain Celestial’s Imagine Natural Creations Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, Sprouts Farmers Market Butternut Squash Soup and Target’s Archer Farms Simply Balanced Butternut Squash Ready to Serve Soup are just a sampling of 2012’s new butternut squash soup offerings, all coincidentally packaged in cartons—not cans.
Another flavor trend for soup in 2012 was hotter and spicier soups, reflecting broad interest in spicy foods. Campbell’s Chunky line was on-trend, with Chipotle Chicken & Corn Chowder, Jammin’ Jerk Chicken with Rice & Beans and Kickin’ Buffalo-Style Chicken Soup, the latter inspired by the popular Buffalo-style chicken wings. Thai-inspired soup flavors were also a flavor trend, illustrated by 365 Everyday Value Thai-Style Chicken Noodle Soup and Healthy Choice Thai Style Chicken with Brown Rice Microwaveable Soup.
A smattering of innovation in vegetable soups may help soup makers court meat-avoiding consumers. Go! Soup (from Coral Gables, Fla.-based Chefs Treats and no relation to Campbell Soup’s Go Soup) all-natural soup offers Asparagus Green Peas and Pumpkin Coriander refrigerated soups in microwaveable plastic cups. Campbell launched Harvest Orange Tomato Soup, a tomato soup made with orange tomatoes, an orange-colored variety of tomatoes known for their distinctive flavor. Time will tell, but this product could open the door to future introductions based on heirloom vegetables and specific vegetable varieties.
Surprisingly few soup makers are leveraging soup as a way to boost vegetable consumption. This approach is more typical in overseas markets like the UK, where New Covent Garden Soup Co.’s Great British Recipe Soup debuted in 2012 in flavors including Beetroot & Horseradish, which counts toward “1 of your five-a-day” fruits and vegetables.
Continuing the vegetable theme, New Covent launched Fresh Bowls Soup in the UK in 2012, a soup packaged in two-compartment plastic bowls that separate the liquid soup from fresh vegetables. The vegetables are steamed from the heat of the soup underneath when cooked; this is a novel way to boost the soup’s perceived freshness.
This focus on flavor and freshness was a nice change-of-pace for a category hurt by what proved to be an intense focus on health concerns surrounding sodium content. In fact, 2012 saw a drop in low-sodium soup introductions, with just 6.8% of soup launches making a low-sodium claim, per Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics. That was down by nearly half from the 12.9% of launches that claimed low- or reduced-sodium contents in 2011. Soups that did make sodium-reduction claims tended to be broth products, such as College Inn Beef Broth in a Fat Free & Lower Sodium variant. Gluten concerns were also back-burner in 2012, with just 6.8% of soup launches going gluten-free, down from 19% that did so in 2011.
One health claim on the upswing is low- or reduced-calories. Some 6.8% of 2012’s new soup launches made a low- or reduced-calorie claim, up from 3.5% in 2011. General Mills’ Progresso Light Soup went in this direction with indulgent flavors, including Chicken Pot Pie Style and Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese.
Soup marketers were busy introducing new packaging types in 2012. Chicken Soup for the Soul brand soup brings reusable glass Mason jars to the soup market, in traditional soup flavors—such as Chicken Noodle and Creamy Tomato. The search for a successful self-heating can continued in 2012, with Hot-Can Self Heating Soup from San Diego-based Hot-Can Inc. Pushing a button at the bottom of the plastic-sheathed can and shaking gently for 30 seconds produces hot soup just three minutes later. A temperature indicator on the can turns from black to green when the soup is heated.
Flexible pouches also are testing the self-heating concept. In Belgium, Heat It Hot Tomato Soup is packed in a 200ml self-heating pouch. Just press a button, and the contents of the pouch heat to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees F) in five minutes.
Side dishes may not appear to have much in common with soup, but this category also is feeling battered by the winds of change. According to Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics, launches of “dried ready meals” (a classification that includes side dishes) dipped 4.3% in 2012.
