Surprise: 42% of Campbell's Profits Come From Something That Has Nothing to Do With Soup
In 1869, a commercial canner named Abraham Anderson joined forces with a vegetable vendor named Joseph Campbell. In no time, the duo had a hit product: canned beefsteak tomato soup. In 1922, the company couldn't deny the importance of soup to its business any longer, and officially renamed itself the Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB).
For Campbell, soup is its middle name -- literally! Its importance to the company can't be denied. However, today, 42% of its profits come from a food business it got into a lot later. And fortunately for shareholders, sales in that part of the business are growing at a much faster rate.
In 1961, Campbell Soup did a very un-soup-y thing: It acquired a baking business called Pepperidge Farm. The company has never been the same since -- and that's a good thing.
Source Fool.com