THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511190196
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CAMDEN, N.J. LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
The folks at Campbell Soup Co. didn't lose their noodles, they just thought they'd stir things up for a change.
Campbell has begun adding 33 percent more chicken to its No. 1-selling chicken noodle soup, the first major recipe change since the soup came out 61 years ago.
Consumers in taste surveys said more chicken was the only way to make the soup better, company spokesman Kevin Lowery said.
``The overall goal is to sell more soup,'' Lowery said.
The nation's sixth-largest food company, which sells 350 million cans of chicken noodle soup a year, began rolling out the meatier soup in August. Nationwide distribution began last month.
With the change came a return to the company's ``M'm! M'm! Good'' slogan - with a slight variation. Now Campbell says the soup is ``M'm! M'm! Better.''
The New York Times reviewed the old and new chicken noodle soup today, praising the ``pleasant texture'' of the noodles but adding that ``neither version has much dimension or depth to it.'' It said the extra meat didn't make the soup significantly more flavorful.
``Still, if your mother serves it to you, you will probably like it.''
Campbells also has created a World Wide Web site that will let consumers:
Order a Campbell cookbook (free to the first 5,000 who register).
Try 65 seasonal recipes.
Reference meal-planning suggestions.
Communicate directly with the company through e-mail.
The Web site is: http://www.campbellsoups.com ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Campbell's ``Red and White'' home page on the Internet offers
traditional advice - such as cookbooks, recipes and meal plans - via
a modern modem.
by CNB