public traded as nyse cpb s & p 500 component industry food processing founded 1869 ; 147 years ago 1869 headquarters camden new jersey u.s. key people paul r. charron chairman denise morrison president and ceo products campbell s erasco bolthouse farms pepperidge farm arnott s pace stockpot v8 liebig royco revenue us 7.719 billion fy 2011 1 operating income us 1.279 billion fy 2011 1 net income us 802 million fy 2011 1 total assets us 6.862 billion july 31 2011 1 total equity us 1.096 billion july 31 2011 1 number of employees 17 500 2011 1 website www.campbellsoupcompany.com entrance to campbell s headquarters in camden prior to renovation and expansion the jos. a. campbell preserve co. camden nj in 1894 joseph campbell company canned beans advertisement in the saturday evening post 1921 . the campbell soup company also known as campbell s is an american producer of canned soups and related products . campbell s products are sold in 120 countries around the world . it is headquartered 2 in camden new jersey . campbell s divides itself into three divisions the simple meals division which consists largely of soups both condensed and ready to serve the baked snacks division which consists of pepperidge farm and the health beverage division which includes v8 juices . campbell s runs a program for schools labels for education . contents 1 history 2 pop art 3 slogans 4 health controversies 5 gmo 6 brands 6.1 soups 6.2 meatballs 6.3 meal kits 6.4 pace 6.5 pepperidge farm 6.6 prego 6.7 swanson 6.8 beverages 6.9 food services 6.10 plants 6.11 other brands 7 recalls 7.1 2010 8 see also 9 notes 10 references 11 external links history edit the company was started in 1869 by joseph a. campbell a fruit merchant from bridgeton new jersey and abraham anderson an icebox manufacturer from south jersey . 3 they produced canned tomatoes vegetables jellies soups condiments and minced meats . in 1876 anderson left the partnership and the company became the joseph a. campbell preserve company . 4 campbell reorganized into joseph campbell & co. in 1896 . in 1897 john t. dorrance a nephew of the general manager arthur dorrance began working for the company at a wage of 7.50 a week . 4 5 dorrance a chemist with degrees from mit and g ttingen university germany developed a commercially viable method for condensing soup by halving the quantity of its heaviest ingredient water . 3 he went on to become president of the company from 1914 to 1930 eventually buying out the campbell family . 6 in 1898 herberton williams a campbell s executive convinced the company to adopt a carnelian red and bright white color scheme because he was taken by the crisp carnelian red color of the cornell university football team s uniforms . 7 to this day the layout of the can with its red and white design and the metallic gold medal seal from the 1900 paris exhibition has changed very little with the exception of the french phrase on the top of the gold seal that said exposition universelle internationale which was changed to the english name of the exhibition as paris international exposition . campbell soup became one of the largest food companies in the world under the leadership of william beverly murphy . he was elected executive vice president of campbell soup in 1949 and was president and ceo from 1953 to 1972 . while at campbell s soup company he took the corporation public and increased its brand portfolio to include pepperidge farm s breads cookies and crackers franco american s gravies and pastas v8 vegetable juices swanson broths and godiva s chocolates . david johnson was president and ceo from 1990 until 1997 . campbell soup invested heavily in advertising since its inception and many of its promotional campaigns have proven value in the americana collectible advertising market . perhaps best known are the campbell kids designed by illustrator grace drayton . 3 ronald reagan was a spokesman for v8 when campbell s acquired the brand in 1948 . 8 in addition to collectible advertising the company has also had notable commercial sponsorships . among these was orson welles s the campbell playhouse which had previously been the mercury theatre on the air . after the program s adaptation of the war of the worlds became a sensation for accidentally starting a mass panic due to its realism campbell s took over as sponsor of the radio theater program in december 1938 . in the uk and ireland campbell soup was rebranded as batchelors condensed soup uk and erin ireland in march 2008 when the license to use the brand name expired . premier foods st. albans hertfordshire bought the campbell soup company in the uk and ireland for 450m 830m in 2006 but was licensed to use the brand only until 2008 . under this agreement the us based campbell soup company continued to produce campbell s condensed soup but could not sell the product in the uk for a further five years . 9 campbell s continues to be a major part of camden new jersey regularly participating in charity events 10 11 in the community . in 2009 campbell s completed the building of a new and expanded headquarters 12 in the city . in january 2010 campbell s canadian subsidiary began selling a line of soups that are certified by the islamic society of north america as being halal prepared in accordance with islamic law . although campbell does not have any plans to sell its halal soups in the united states the move has drawn criticism from anti muslim critics in the united states . blogger pamela geller called for a boycott of the company . 13 in july 2011 campbell s soup decided to once again sell its product in the uk after being absent since 2008 . 14 symingtons began manufacturing the brand under license by symingtons . the new line up comprised twelve cup soups five simmer soups designed to be cooked in a pot of water four savoury rice lines and four savoury pasta and sauce packets . the new range will not be sold in cans but instead sold in packets and boxes . later in 2011 the canned varieties have also returned to supermarket shelves with refreshed labels and new lines . 15 in 2012 campbell announced plans to buy bolthouse farms a maker of juices salad dressings and baby carrots for 1.55 billion . analysts saw this as an attempt to reach younger more affluent consumers . 16 in june 2013 campbell acquired the danish multinational baked goods company kelsen group for an undisclosed amount . 17 kelsen has an 85 country distribution network and is seen as providing campbell with opportunities for international expansion particularly into china and other asian markets . 17 in june 2015 campbell soup acquired salsa maker garden fresh gourmet for a fee of 231 million as it looked to expand into the fresh and organic packaged foods business . 18 pop art edit in 1962 artist andy warhol took the familiar look of the campbell s soup can and integrated it into a series of pop art silkscreens a theme he would return to off and on through the 1960s and 1970s . the first batch in 1962 were a series of 32 canvases . at first the cans were accurate representations of actual campbell s cans but as his series progressed they became more surrealistic with warhol experimenting with negative reversed color schemes and other varied techniques many of these which would be used on other warhol paintings of the period such as his celebrity silkscreens of the 1960s . the silkscreens themselves have become iconic pieces of pop art with one in particular small torn campbell soup can pepper pot 1962 commanding a price of 11.8 million at auction in 2006 . in 2004 campbell s themselves recognized warhol s art by releasing in the eastern united states a limited edition series of cans that were inspired by the coloring and silkscreen effects of warhol s pieces . this marked one of the few times in the company s history that they would change the trade dress for their main canned soup line in any substantial manner . in 2012 the warhol inspired cans returned to shelves in an exclusive retail partnership with target . slogans edit mmm mmm good 1935 present ; their predominantly used slogan 19 give me the campbell life 1969 75 soup is good food 1975 c. 1982 never underestimate the power of soup 1990s possibilities 2005 2009 so many many reasons it s so mmm mmm good 2008 2010 it s amazing what soup can do 2010 present made for real real life health controversies edit many canned soups including campbell s condensed and chunky varieties contain relatively high quantities of sodium and thus are not desirable for those on low sodium diets . however campbell s chunky healthy request and other soups as well as their v 8 and tomato juices have claimed to contain reduced sodium levels . 20 these soups use sea salt as one of the methods in lowering sodium . in the fall of 2007 campbell s was awarded a certificate of excellence for their efforts in lowering sodium levels from blood pressure canada . 21 by autumn 2009 campbell s claimed it had lowered the sodium content in 50 % of its soups range . 22 in march 2009 this claim was challenged . abc news reported that the low sodium variety of campbell soup in fact contains the same amount of sodium as the regular variety and that campbell s healthy request soup contains more fat than the regular variety . 23 in december 2009 consumer reports found that major canned food companies including campbell s soup had tinned products which had bisphenol a bpa levels over 100 ppb in some cases ; 24 the testing revealed that just one serving of canned food would exceed an expert s recommendation for daily exposure 0.2 micrograms per kg body weight per day . 24 in july 2011 citing sinking sales and a combination of consumer views and choices and having found no connection between sodium consumption and negative health outcomes 25 they increased the salt contents again . 26 gmo edit throughout 2012 campbell s contributed 500 000 to a 46 million political campaign known as the coalition against the costly food labeling proposition sponsored by farmers and food producers 27 this organization was set up to oppose a citizens initiative known as proposition 37 demanding mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients . 28 in january 2016 they decided to support mandatory labeling and announced they would label their products that contained gmo additives . 29 brands edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . november 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message campbell s owns numerous brands categorized for different lines . many of campbell s brands are listed below . soups edit fresh corn with campbell s condensed cream of mushroom soup philippines . campbell s condensed soups campbell s flagship line campbell s chunky soups ready to serve soups with larger pieces of vegetables and meat . the line was revamped in 2009 using lean meat to appeal to new male demographics for healthier foods and to appeal to women . 30 campbell s fun favorites soups campbell s go line of ready to serve soups packaged in plastic retort pouches campbell s healthy request soups soups with lower quantities of ingredients such as sodium campbell s kitchen classics soups campbell s 100 % natural soups introduced in 1983 as campbell s home cookin it was renamed campbell s select in 1999 and