Pass the salt

In a bid to lure health-conscious consumers—more inclined to eat at home during the recession—Campbell Soup Co. has been touting efforts to cut salt from its prepared soups. (In one commercial, a factory employee is buried waist-deep in it.) Despite this much-publicized campaign, U.S. soup sales fell five per cent in the company’s latest quarter, prompting chief executive officer Douglas Conant to tell reporters it will now focus on creating some “taste adventure” instead.

 

Campbell Soup isn’t the only one that’s tried to cut back on sodium: Hostess Brands and Heinz signed on to the U.S. National Salt Reduction Initiative, which aims to reduce salt intake by 20 per cent over five years. Even so, as salt levels decrease, sales can, too. Maybe we like some of our soups salty—or maybe, coming out of the recession, a lot of people have simply had enough of eating canned soup.