Campbell’s Is Launching a Line of Canned Sauces

If you’ve ever had a canned soup, ever, in your entire life, then it was probably Campbell’s. Arguably the world’s best-known canned soup brand, Campbell’s Cream of soups have been there whenever you’re in a pinch: Have nothing else in the house? They’ve got you covered. Need a speedy lunch? They’re here for ya. Hungover, and can only stomach brunch drinks and other liquids? Campbell’s will provide, without judgment. 

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Now, the brand is hoping to achieve the same success in the sauce world. Campbell’s is launching a line of canned sauces this June, and it’s being a little more ambitious with them than you might expect. Here’s what we know.

Campbell’s Sauces: Like Soup, But Saucier

Campbell’s new sauce line is, in some ways, a long-overdue launch by the company. People have been using its soups as part of their own sauces or recipes for generations, and although the brand has been happy to sit back and let them do it, it now seems like it’s trying to match customer behavior. “We’re just building on what [consumers are] doing, which is always the best, the most successful innovation,” said Risa Cretella, president of Campbell’s meals and beverages division, in a statement to Food Dive. “It’s very difficult and very expensive to get consumers to behave differently, but if they already have a behavior, you’re just leaning into what they’re doing. So I think it’ll be a tremendous compliment to our existing cooking portfolio.” We think so too, to be honest.

As for what flavors are entering this portfolio, Campbell’s has four of them planned. Creamy Lemon Garlic and Smothered Chicken sauces are perhaps the two that fly closest to the brand’s current soup range, and promise big, down-the-line flavor with a nice twist. What we’re especially excited about, though, is its new Butter Chicken and Thai Curry flavors, which represent a more adventurous move for Campbell’s. It remains to be seen whether they actually taste like the dishes that they’re trying to emulate, though.

New Flavor Frontiers

For Cretella, these new flavors, with their slightly more ambitious note, are “for the consumer that’s already going to the aisle and trusting Campbell’s as an ingredient that will feel familiar, but hopefully a little exciting.” Customers are more and more interested in cuisines and dishes that draw inspiration from around the world, and the brand hopes to match that inclination. “We have strong taste credentials, so consumers are giving us permission, ‘Yes, go into these more global type of flavors’” stated Cretella.

That said, it’s not like Campbell’s hasn’t been ambitious in the past – but that ambition can sometimes show in slightly muted ways. Last year, it released a duo of Pabst Blue Ribbon-infused chunky soups, which sounded exciting, but which were frankly pretty boring. We can only hope that with these new soups, it really goes for it.