Campbell Soup to grow business in China

Campbell Soup Co. said today that it formed a joint venture to increase its sales of soup in China. The partnership with Swire Pacific Ltd. is to begin operations early this year and will be 60 percent owned by Campbell.

China has one of the world's highest rates of soup consumption, with about 355 billion servings a year - virtually all homemade, Campbell said.

"Developing a commercial soup market in China represents a tremendous business opportunity," said Douglas R. Conant, chief executive of the Camden company. "Realizing the benefit of such an opportunity requires a long-term commitment and the right strategic partner."

Conant noted that Swire, of Hong Kong, has been a distribution partner in China for Campbell since it entered the Chinese market in 2007.

The venture, Campbell Swire, will be based in Shanghai and handle manufacturing, packaging, branding, marketing and distributing soup and broth products in China

In its latest fiscal year, Campbell had sales of $978 million in its Asia/Australia region, or about 13 percent of the company's worldwide total. The company has previously said it also plans to expand in Russia.

Campbell's shares gained 38 cents to trade at $34.93 early this afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.

   -Paul Schweizer