Purpose as a Filter for Decision-Making

The food industry is in the midst of a revolution that’s reshaping the way we grow food, develop recipes, choose ingredients and even decide what materials go into the packaging of our products. For today’s consumer, transparency is the coin of the realm. That’s the subject of the panel discussion I led at Sustainable Brands ‘16 San Diego last week. As a purpose-driven company, Campbell is helping to shape the future of food.

In a changing world, the companies that succeed in living their beliefs and performing at a higher level are companies that are driven by a singular purpose. But purpose goes well beyond words on paper. It’s most effective when companies use these beliefs as a filter for decision making. At Campbell, we’ve already put our purpose into action in a number of ways:

Transparency: The people who eat our food have an increasing interest about how and where it’s grown, why certain ingredients are used, and whether it comes from a sustainable source. Through our What’s In My Food.com website, we provide a new level of transparency by sharing information on more than a dozen of our brands, including our iconic Campbell’s condensed Tomato and Chicken Noodle soups, and we’re adding more every day. The site shares information like the types of ingredients we use in our products, why we chose those ingredients and where they came from.

Real ingredients: Consumers want foods that are more healthful, with minimal processing and fewer - or no - artificial ingredients. That’s driven the creation of what we call our NO GO list: no artificial flavors or colors, no added preservatives, and no MSG in the development of any new product in our Americas division. We’re also continuing to look for ways to reduce our use of high-fructose corn syrup.

This real-food design philosophy isn’t new for us. It harkens back to our roots, and is based on principles that the inventor of condensed soup, Dr. John Dorrance, set more than 100 years ago:

As we consider our purpose and these questions with every decision, we’ll ensure the food we make is the food that consumers want: real food that tastes great, made with real ingredients that fit into their real lives.
Over time, we’ll be challenging ourselves to make more meaningful changes in how we source the ingredients we use and how we develop new foods and drinks, all with the goal of meeting the increasing consumer appetite for good, healthful, affordable food, while living up to our purpose.

Purpose in action: People know Campbell—they grew up eating the food we make. And, they hold us to a higher standard. We take that responsibility seriously. That’s why, earlier this year, we became the first major food company to call for mandatory national labeling of products that may contain genetically modified organisms (GMO), and it’s why we’re also supporting federal standards for non-GMO claims made on food packaging. More than 9 out of 10 consumers want GMO labeling, and we believe the only way to meet that demand is for the federal government to provide clear direction, definitions and standards. It’s one more decision driven by our purpose that honors our pledge to be open, honest and transparent, and to put consumers first.

As I’ve written about in an earlier article, a true purpose should lead a company both in what it stands for and what it stands against. For Campbell, it’s defining the way we think, talk and act about our food. We’ve made tangible changes to reshape Campbell, and with our purpose as a filter for decision making we are looking forward to the future.

This post was originally published on June 9, 2016 as part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and Sustainable Brands on the power of purpose in driving business success. The Huffington Post was a media partner for SB’16 San Diego, Sustainable Brands’ flagship conference in San Diego June 6th-9th. Campbell Soup Company is a member of the Sustainable Brands Member Network.