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Dive Overview:
- Campbell’s Soup said so. It will close one factory and downsize a second facility. The company also plans to invest $230 million in newer, more efficient factories through fiscal 2026 to improve the competitiveness of its supply chain.
- The soup and snacks maker will close its Tualatin, Oregon, plant, which makes Pacific organic soups, broths and plant-based beverages. The closure will be phased, with the plant ceasing operations by July 2026. Campbell said 330 employees will be affected. The packaged food company also plans to focus its Jeffersonville, Indiana, plant on producing tortilla chips in late July and move kettle potato chip production to other facilities. The changes will affect 85 jobs.
- Additionally, the company announced it would invest in plants in Maxton, North Carolina; Hanover, Pennsylvania; and Franklin, Wisconsin. The changes will create a total of 210 new jobs. Campbell also plans to increase Goldfish Cracker production in Richmond, Utah by 50% by the end of 2024. This will create 80 new jobs at the plant.
Dive Insights:
Campbell is the latest to make significant changes to its network as companies look to overhaul their supply chains to boost efficiencies and reduce costs while increasing production. “These measures are another important step in transforming Campbell’s supply chain into a competitive advantage,” the company said in a statement.
“To drive growth and transform our manufacturing and distribution network, we need to invest in and further strengthen our supply chain,” said Dan Poland, Campbell’s chief supply chain officer. “We will continue to manufacture the highest quality products in a more agile, flexible and cost-efficient manufacturing network.”
He added that Campbell continues to “evaluate optimization opportunities” to develop its “supply chain of the future.”
In a statement, Campbell detailed the rationale behind the announcement at its factories.
For example, Oregon Pacific’s plant has a leased building of about 250,000 square feet. “The aging facility and inefficient site configuration have left us unable to meet increasing consumer demand and the continued growth of our business,” Campbell said. The company plans to move soup and bouillon production to other heated and aseptic plants and plant-based beverage production to a larger co-manufacturing partner.
Campbell said it will also invest in and add jobs to a new aseptic soup facility in North Carolina, an additional potato chip kettle in Pennsylvania and tortilla chip capacity in Wisconsin. In addition to making its plants more efficient, the New Jersey company plans to increase production capacity for its most popular brands, including Late July and Goldfish.
Campbell is focusing particularly on the tiny fish-shaped crackers as it ramps up innovation and promotes its $1 billion Goldfish brand to older consumers who grew up with the product.
To do that, Campbell’s is turning to different textures, bolder flavors and limited-edition offerings. Goldfish is the fastest-growing cracker brand in the category, with dollar sales up 33% over the past three years, Campbell told Food Dive earlier this year.
Food manufacturers are closing some facilities and reopening or expanding others to right-size production and improve efficiencies across their manufacturing networks. PepsiCo Inc. said in April it would close a Quaker Oats plant in Illinois, resulting in the loss of 510 jobs, while Conagra Brands Inc. said it would close a facility in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, that produces its Birds Eye frozen brand. Conagra said 252 jobs would be lost.
