Campbell Soup Company Expands V8 Juice Distribution To Vending Machines

Source: From Campbell Soup Press Release

CAMDEN, N.J., December 3, 2008 – For the seventy percent of Americans who don’t get enough vegetables every day1, there are now fewer excuses. Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB), the maker of V8® 100% juices, has made it even more convenient for people to get their vegetables on the go by expanding the distribution of several of its V8 juices to vending machines for the first time.
Campbell has created a new 12-ounce bottle that will enable the company to offer its popular V8 juices in approximately 15,000 vending machines across the country including those in malls, offices, hotels, hospitals and even schools. The single-serve refrigerated juices will be managed by Coca-Cola Enterprises’ (CCE) leading distribution system as part of an agreement Campbell entered into with Coca-Cola North America and CCE in June 2007.

“Leveraging our partnership with Coca-Cola to make vegetable-based juices more accessible and available is another important step in the V8 brand’s goal to expand our distribution capabilities and to help people get more vegetables into their diets every day,” said Darren Serrao, Vice President & General Manager, Sauces & Beverages. “Providing nutritious, functional juices like V8 vegetable juice and V8 V-Fusion® in more places like schools is especially important given that healthy habits begin early in life.”

Demand for health-promoting, functional beverages is on the rise. Mintel International Ltd., a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, estimates the total
1 Casagrande SS, Wang Y, Anderson C, Gary TL. Have Americans Increased their Fruit and Vegetable Intake? The Trends Between 1988 and 2002. Am J Prev Med 2007; 32:257-63
functional beverage market exhibited a 29 percent growth since 2003, and forecasts sales to increase another 19 percent by 20112.

V8, the “original functional beverage,” will offer six 100% juice varieties in the new 12-ounce bottles, to meet different taste and lifestyle priorities: V8 100% vegetable juice, Spicy Hot V8 100% vegetable juice, V8 V-Fusion Strawberry Banana juice, V8 V-Fusion Pomegranate Blueberry juice, V8 V-Fusion Peach Mango juice and Campbell’s® Tomato juice.

V8 100% vegetable juice provides three full servings of vegetables and V8 V-Fusion provides more than a full serving each of vegetables and of fruit in each 12-ounce bottle. The juices also are a good source of antioxidants A and C and help people to meet the government recommended five servings of vegetables per day.

In addition to vending machines the new 12-ounce bottles are currently available in convenience, grocery and mass merchandisers.

About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality foods and simple meals, including soup, 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.” For more information on the company, visit Campbell’s website at www.campbellsoup.com.