Campbell Soup Company Case Study

Campbell Soup Company, also known as Campbell’s, is a global food company reported to be the U.S. market leader in wet soup. Established in 1869, this company has been around for almost 150 years with products available to all U.S. States and more than 100 countries. They have annual sales of more than $8 million and employ around 20,000 employees worldwide with their main headquarters being in Camden, N.J. The Campbell’s brand itself leads sales, but the company has also extended beyond their soup and simple meals and bought out several other reputable brands such as Pepperidge Farm cookies and bread; Goldfish crackers; V8 juices; Bolthouse Arms beverages; Plum Organics premium organic baby food, Swanson broths and stock, Arnott’s, Kjedsens

and Roay Dansk biscuits, and Prego pasta sauce (Campbell Soup Company, 2015).
In October 2007, it was announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other media sources that Campbell Soup Company was declaring a voluntary recall of 72,300 cans of soup from 24 different states.

According to the FDA, this recall came after three consumers reported minor injury from small plastic particles that were found in their Campbell’s brand soup. The voluntary recall stated that the hard plastic particles posed a possible choking hazard and could cause injury if swallowed, but the recall included only the 18.8 ounce cans of Campbell’s Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits. Campbell’s claims that none of the other products sold by its company were affected (Food and Drug Administration,

2007).
Due to the fact that this crisis dates back to 2007, there is limited information available about the crisis itself or how it was handled. All the sources that could be located included the same press release as that released by the FDA on October 7, 2007. Perhaps this speaks of their consistency in voice during crisis. Several news sources including local news for the Camden, N.J. area and the Associated Press released the exact same press release along with several business or food related websites.
What can be said is that customers were alerted not to consume this product due to the possible hazard. The cans included in the recall all had a certain code listed on the bottom of the can. That code was announced to the public and customers were encouraged to check their can goods at home. The press release that was generated through media sources included a customer contact number for inquiries and instructed customers to take all recalled product back to the place of purchase for an exchange or refund.
Once again due to the time frame of this crisis, information is limited concerning the impact on the Campbell Soup Company during and following this crisis event.

However, just a year after the crisis the Campbell Company was recognized for being one of the most exceptionally socially responsible companies. A survey was conducted by the Reputation Institute and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship that put Campbell’s 2nd only to Google out of the top 50 U.S. companies.
David Stangis, Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility, noted that Campbell’s had been building and maintaining its reputation for over a century. He said, “This recognition is a testament to our focus on corporate responsibility, governance and creating an outstanding workplace and it certainly reflects the trust consumers have placed in the Campbell’s brand through the years.”
The report by Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire also included information about how Campbell’s was giving back to the community of Camden, N.J. They noted plans for the Campbell Soup Company to contribute $10 million toward job training, renovation, and youth focused programs. They reported that Campbell’s had broken ground on an expansion to their world headquarters and how that they planned to include an office park adjacent to their facility to attract new business to the city (Campbell Soup Company,

2008).
Crisis management for this company is an ongoing process. They dealt with the issue immediately, but they continued on with business. The size of this organization at the time of this crisis would certainly have played a part in their ability to minimize impact. A smaller company or one that did not have as many years of experience might not have weathered so well.
There were only a few more current product recalls noted on the Campbell’s website, but all appeared to be minor and without potential for harm. It seems they are quick to react to the potential issues and that they are working hard to stay on top of public opinion. Pertaining to the current public concern with BPA, Campbell’s has a spokesperson prepared to answer questions and alleviate concerns. One such example was a personal blog site where a concerned individual was making accusations about BPA and making comments about Campbell’s use of cans that were lined with BPA. A spokesperson was quick to join that conversation and made very professional replies. This was only a blog site, but it was open to the public so it had the potential to cause harm to the company. Campbell’s had feelers out in order to find this and had a plan in place to deal with the issue (Aulenback, 2011).
The Campbell Soup Company says that soup is their middle name, but there is much more to their company. They have expanded their product based, branched out to including more Brand names, and they have worked hard to continually build and maintain a valuable reputation for their organization. Current information about their company aligns with information found during the 2007 crisis to indicate a reputable company with high standards of excellence. Overall, it seems that Campbell Soup Company has handled their share of crisis in good stride.