Make That To Go
Craig Rydin started with dessert first. Now he’s working on the soup course.
Campbell Soup Co. tapped the president of Godiva Chocolatier to head its newest branding venture, Campbell Away from Home. The division, formed in September, will extend Campbell’s soup brand with kettles in colleges and business cafeterias, menus in quick-service restaurants, and eventually branded kiosks in airports and malls.
“We want to own the soup category through availability,” Rydin says.
To start, Campbell Away from Home is pitching restaurants on branded menu items. It’s been in test with Long John Silver’s for a year, and it rolled out branded menus systemwide this fall. Campbell expects to sign more restaurant chains by year’s end for brands including V-8, Pepperidge Farm, and Stockpot, a refrigerated soup business (80% foodservice) that Campbell bought this year. Rydin’s retail experience at Godiva complements Campbell’s foodservice business, which grew four percent to $455 million in North America this year. U.S. and international operations were folded into Campbell Away from Home with Joe Kiely as president of U.S. foodservice.
Campbell’s branding push comes after Campbell has refocused on its core equities under president-ceo Dale Morrison. The company spun off its Vlasic Foods unit to concentrate on its Campbell, Godiva, and Pepperidge Farm holdings. Campbell sees branded foodservice as a stepping stone to global expansion. Soup alone could become a $1 billion business for the Camden, NJ, company.
“Past Campbell strategy has been more bi-polar between branded and unbranded products,” Rydin explains. “Going forward, we want to convince our QSR customers that branded business is better for them.” For example, branded kettles at Auburn University sold more soup in one month than the cafeteria sold all year before the new merchandising program. And table tents and other merchandising have helped double sales in all venues, Rydin says.
The company has added a trade overlay to its flagship Labels for Education consumer promotion: Foodservice operators that serve Campbell products can earn Labels points that they can donate to local schools. It lets QSRs extend the Labels program to their consumers.
Soup boutiques
The most ambitious of Campbell’s plans is to open kiosks in high-traffic areas like airports, sports stadiums, and malls. That’s where Rydin’s three years at Godiva will help. He’s credited with accelerating the growth of Godiva’s own stores, and bringing the brand into other upscale stores like Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
“That’s been a real highlight of my career,” Rydin says. “Godiva has been Campbell’s fastest-growing division for the last five years. We were opening 10 boutiques a year in the mid-90s; now we’re opening 30 a year.”
Three factors define Godiva, Rydin says: It’s global, it’s a brand-sensitive category, and it’s a retail-driven business. That’s the blueprint for Campbell Away from Home. As Campbell parlays its supermarket equity into a restaurant brand, it combines packaged goods expertise with retail savvy. Same recipe, different ingredients.
“Godiva was a great job because it has very high-end retail locations, so we opened almost exclusively flagship stores,” Rydin explains. “Campbell will be different. The site selection process will be the same, but we’ll choose very different sites [than Godiva]. We may be in the same mall, but at opposite ends.”
Before taking the reins for Godiva, Rydin spent 17 years at Pepperidge Farm, where he helped elevate the lowly Goldfish cracker to a stand-alone brand, and stepped up marketing targeted to kids. After 20 years serving up snacks, Rydin isn’t full yet – not when the marketing menu changes daily.
“Retail is a fashion business,” he says. “It’s fun to watch new retail channels emerge and then supermarkets and department stores use those for models of change. “The brands that win as retail environments switch are those quick enough to adapt. It all comes back to brands: Without a solid brand, it’s tough to stay alive.”
