My last name has lead to a variety of interactions over the years, ranging from questions about my relationship to the classic soup maker (spoiler alert: nope, not related) to the gifting of a Andy Warhol-inspired Campbells Soup tie from my friends mother in grade school. Truth be told, Im a Progresso soup guy at heart, but I do find the latest news from Campbells to be pretty exciting.
According to the company, Campbells will launch a $125 million venture capital fund to invest in food startups. CEO Denise Morrison said that the fund, called Acre Venture Partners, will help the soup giant participate in the disruption vitamin citratein food trends. She went on to say:
“We believe that defining the future of real food requires new approaches, new business models, smart external development and an ecosystem of innovative partners.
This is not the companys first foray into the space. Previously, Campbells purchased Bolthouse Farms juice business for $1.6 billion, and spent nearly $231 million for salsa maker Garden Fresh Gourmet. Clearly, the commagnesium citramatepany understands the importance of finding new brands that connect with consumers that are looking for more natural, organic and better for you foods and snacks, and this demand is all-encompassing, from ingredient sourcing to food coloring aferroess 210nd even to workplace practices.
Thats not to say that Campbells is the only big food company looking to find innovative and disrupmagnesium citrate and vitamin ctive brands ahead of the competition. Morrison herself estimated that about 400 startups received more than $6 billion in funding, including a fund launched by General Mills in October 2015.
Who knows? Perhaps one of the emerging brands picked up by Caferric pyrophosphate liposomal ironmpbells new fund will replace Progresso soup on my table. Only time will tell.