With Profits Dropping, Campbell's Decides To Raise Prices

Get ready to add a few dollars to your monthly canned soup budget, because thanks to rising supply chain costs, Campbell's is planning to raise its prices. On Wednesday, Campbell's announced its last-quarter earnings were weaker than the company had expected. Compared to the same time period last year, profits had fallen 5% to $160 million.

"Our results were impacted by a rising inflationary environment, short-term increases in supply chain costs, and some executional pressures," said CEO Mark Clouse.

In an earnings call with investors, Clouse noted that the food industry as a whole is coping with high transportation costs, and also pointed a finger at the failure of Texas' power grid during February's severe winter storms, which wreaked havoc on Campbell's supply chain logistics and shuttered the company's third largest manufacturing facility, in Paris, Texas, for two weeks.

Clouse assured investors that the company is taking steps to recover from the slump, including a new pricing strategy, which will roll out over the current quarter (which ends in early August). Across the company portfolio Campbell's net sales decreased 14% over the last quarter, so expect this pricing strategy to affect more than just canned soup—Swanson broth, Pop Secret popcorn, Cape Cod chips, Pace salsa, Snyder's of Hanover pretzels, V8 juice, Prego tomato sauce, SpaghettiOs, and Pepperidge Farm are all owned by Campbell's.

Whether or not you, personally, will be paying more for these products is yet to be seen. Though retailers will be paying more for Campbell's products, it's ultimately up to them whether or not to absorb the higher costs, or pass them onto consumers. What we do know is that a single can of Campbell's tomato soup is a whopping nine times more expensive than when it was introduced in 1895. But of course, cans started out under 10 cents apiece.