Campbell Soup Co. expands line of V8

7/13/2010
REUTERS

CAMDEN, N.J. - Campbell Soup Co. is introducing drinks in its V8 vegetable juice line as the company seeks to expand sales in its drinks segment.

Beginning next month, Campbell plans to start selling a V8 V-Fusion drink with green tea that it hopes will appeal to consumers during the afternoon.

Current versions of the juice often are consumed during the morning.

Campbell is also launching a carrot-based V8 vegetable drink aimed at consumers who may not like tomato juice, which is the foundation of V8 juice.

Campbell's biggest manufacturing complex, a 730-acre site in Napoleon, Ohio, which houses two plants, will help produce the new V8 drinks.

A spokesman for the company said the new drink production will not add jobs or require a reinvestment in the plants.

The world's largest soup maker made the comments during a meeting with analysts and investors at its headquarters in Camden, N.J., yesterday.

Campbell, which also produces Prego sauces and Pepperidge Farm baked goods in addition to its namesake soups, said the firm's overall growth strategy includes making products more broadly available in new markets, exploring new partnerships or acquisitions, and boosting its profit margins by raising prices.

In its U.S. soup segment, which has been hurt by competition with other simple meal options, Campbell said it will test new versions of its canned tomato soup made with yellow and orange tomatoes.