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If a USD 1.6 billion company announces that new microwaveable soup containers are lifting quarterly earnings with more than one third, someone at research/business development has done something right. Campbell’s Soup, the company in question, has scored a major hit with its sippable, heat-and-go soups. It started out with market research: according to National Eating Trends, 59 percent of all meals in the US are rushed, 44 percent of women carry lunch to work or school and 34 percent of lunches are eaten on the run. Soup is consistently a top choice for consumers preparing lunch at home, but falls low on the list for out-of-home lunch choices. So putting one and one together, Campbell’s saw the opportunity to shift the paradigm, getting consumers to think about soup as a meal solution for many occasions. In fact, launched last year with four varieties, sippable Soup at Hand was one of the most successful new product introductions in the company’s history. To keep the buzz going, and to stick with trend-based product introductions, the Soup at Hand line will see seven new varieties next month, three of which — Chicken & Stars, Mexican Fiesta and Pizza — catering to ‘Tweens’, children 10 to 14. Note: Tweens are currently the ‘generation du jour’! (Sources: Newstream.com, CNet.com, AdAge.com.)

Opportunities

Want to be like Campbell’s? Relentlessly observe your playing field: which habits and lifestyles are changing, how to infuse your products with a bit of buzz and excitement, how to link everything to everything. For Soup at Hand, it wasn’t just demograhic data, but also observing that consumers more than ever enjoy ‘sip and go’ (Starbucks), or a random given that almost all offices have microwaves on the premises these days. A similar process by Philips lead to the Senseo Coffee machine and if you read TRENDWATCHING.COM, you will easily come up with some more inspiration and ideas. Bon appetit!