Company Executives Emphasized Opportunity for Accelerated Innovation
NORWALK, Conn., Sep 12, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Pepperidge Farm and Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) executives broke ground on a 34,000-square-foot innovation center in a ceremony at Pepperidge Farm’s headquarters in Norwalk. Campbell President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison and Pepperidge Farm President Pat Callaghan were joined by Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia and other state and local officials to celebrate the commencement of the project.
The $30-million investment supports Campbell’s strategy of continuing to drive growth in baked snacks. It also reflects the company’s efforts to accelerate innovation across its Baking and Snacking portfolio, the company’s second-largest reporting segment, which includes both its Pepperidge Farm unit and its Arnott’s biscuits unit in Australia and Asia Pacific. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, Campbell reported that its Global Baking and Snacking segment sales increased 17 percent.
Morrison said, “Pepperidge Farm has a long track record of innovation, and this project is key to our plans to accelerate the rate of innovation in baked snacks. The center is designed to foster greater collaboration and creativity in a setting where we can combine our culinary and baking expertise with our understanding of consumers’ needs.”
The innovation center will house a state-of-the-art pilot plant with product development and testing lines, culinary kitchens, scientific labs and meeting rooms. This will enable Pepperidge Farm employees to conduct initial research and testing of new product concepts in a more convenient and cost effective way and deliver new innovative products to the marketplace faster than in the past.
“Pepperidge Farm was actually founded on innovation in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, a 40-year-old homemaker living on a property called Pepperidge Farm. That was where she began baking and perfecting the all natural, whole grain bread that launched our organization,” said Callaghan. “The new facility will allow us to continue answering the question that Margaret was famous for asking: ‘What’s Next?’”
The center will be designed as an environmentally-friendly, LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “green” building and will employ a variety of energy efficiency, water conservation and day-light harvesting techniques, and will use recycled building materials in the construction. Campbell recently received LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for the Campbell Employee Center in Camden, N.J.
Designed by The Dennis Group, Springfield, Mass., and Perkins Eastman, Stamford, Conn., the innovation center will be an extension of Pepperidge Farm’s headquarters and connect to the main building by a glass enclosed internal walkway. The project is designed to create a more contemporary and productive workspace for the 275 Pepperidge Farm employees at its headquarters.
Once the new facility is completed in fall 2012, Pepperidge Farm’s headquarters will include approximately 115,000 square feet of office and research and development space. The company also leases 33,500 square feet of space at Norwalk’s Norden Place Office Park.
About Pepperidge Farm
Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a leading provider of premium quality fresh bakery products, cookies, crackers, and frozen foods. The company was named the #1 Place to Work in Connecticut in the large companies category of the Best Places to Work in Connecticut competition for 2009. Among the company’s most popular products are Sausalito(R) and Milano(R) cookies, Goldfish(R) crackers, Baked Naturals(R) crackers, frozen Puff Pastry, frozen garlic loaves and Texas toasts, and more than 50 varieties of fresh baked breads including Pepperidge Farm(R) Swirl, Farmhouse and Whole Grain. The company added Ecce Panis(R) gourmet artisan breads to its portfolio in 2009. Pepperidge Farm was founded in Connecticut in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, an entrepreneurial homemaker who began baking fresh, all-natural bread for her allergy-afflicted son. The company is now a nationwide business with 9 manufacturing facilities and almost 5,000 employees. Pepperidge Farm has been part of Campbell Soup Company since 1961.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality foods and simple meals, including soup and sauces, baked snacks and healthy beverages. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market-leading brands, including “Campbell’s,” “Pepperidge Farm,” “Arnott’s” and “V8.” Through its corporate social responsibility program, the company strives to make a positive impact in the workplace, in the marketplace and in the communities in which it operates. Campbell is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit https://www.campbellsoup.com.
SOURCE: Campbell Soup Company
Pepperidge FarmGeri Allen, 203-846-7351[email protected]orCampbell Soup CompanyAnthony Sanzio, 856-968-4390
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