Goldfish swimming toward $1 billion in annual sales for Campbell Soup
CAMDEN – Goldfish crackers have become a whale-sized performer for Campbell Soup Co.
The Camden firm has announced plans for a $160 million expansion of a Goldfish plant in Utah, citing increased demand for the most popular product in its Snacks division.
“The new line will increase the bakery’s output of Goldfish by 50 percent and produce over 5 million Goldfish per hour,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.
The expansion, to be completed by year-end 2024, is Campbell’s third move to boost Goldfish capacity in the past two years. It previously expanded bakeries in Lakeland, Florida and Willard, Ohio.
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Campbell Soup has been selling Goldfish since 1962, when the founder of its Pepperidge Farm brand acquired the recipe during a trip to Switzerland.
The little cracker “is quickly approaching a billion-dollar business,” said Chris Foley, president of Campbell Snacks.
How has Campbell Soup spurred Goldfish sales?
Campbell has boosted sales through limited-time offers of crackers tied to pop-culture figures, as well as with attention-grabbing flavors like Old Bay seasoning and Frank’s RedHot sauce.
The Goldfish brand, which supports its campaigns through social media, also has promoted family-size packaging and oversized Mega Bites, among other moves.
“Our strategy to broaden our consumer base is working,” Mark Clouse, Campbell’s president and CEO, said earlier this year. “Mega Bites are performing well with older consumers and more than half of buyers are households without children.”
Campbell in June said Goldfish helped power a 14 percent increase for Snack sales in the first nine months of its fiscal year. That compared to an 8 percent gain for the Meals & Beverage division, which includes soups, sauces and other products.
The two divisions are close to comparable in size.
Nine-month sales were $3.97 billion for Meals & Beverage and $3.31 billion for Snacks.
The Utah plan also calls for construction of a flour mill connected to the Campbell bakery about 100 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Campbell said the mill, to be owned and operated by Utah Flour Milling LLC, will increase supply reliability and support continued growth, among other advantages.
It also will curb greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating more than 2,200 trucks per year transporting flour to the bakery.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Campbell's Goldfish sales receive boost from Old Bay, Red Hot flavors
