soup wars - who'd have thought it

I am so confused.

You may remember a rant I had a little over a year ago about the loss to our supermarket shelves of the famous Campbell's Soup tin. It seemed a strange decision to rebrand an iconic company with a less than iconic brand. A little further investigation (reading the BBC website) threw a little light on the situation but still didn't make a huge amount of sense to me. See if you can make something of it.

Basically a company over here bought the rights to make Campbell's Soup in the UK. A group called Premier foods (you may have heard of some of their licensed brands, Mr Kipling, Hovis, Birds, Oxo, Crosse & Blackwell, Angel Delight, SunPat, Sunblest, Smash, Lyod Grossman, Ambrosia, Bisto... etc etc etc.) They bought the rights to make the soup but not the rights to use the brand. So they make Campbell's Soup using the Campbell's Soup recipe, but can't call it Campbell's Soup - hence the rebrand to Bachelors Soup (or Erin Soup in Ireland.)

Still with me?

Meanwhile in the US they still have good old original Campbell's Soup, by the same recipe, in the same tins as they always had. They just can't sell it in the UK - well, not for another 5 years at least when Premier's exclusive license to make it in the UK runs out.

So why am I confused? Well, I've just been shopping and found a Campbell's logo at the end of aisle 30 along with an "introductory offer" It turns out that, while Bachelors have the license to make the tinned condensed soup, it doesn't cover instant or dried versions. So a company up in Leeds, Symingtons, have developed a dried version, got the ok from Campbell's, and have started selling cup soup, simmer soup and (rather confusingly) pasta & sauce and savoury rice. What makes me laugh about this is the remarkable similarity to existing products, (respectively) cup-a-soup, Express Soupfuls, Pasta n' Sauce, and Savoury rice - all made by... guess who. I'm just waiting to hear the annoucement that Campbells will be bringing out Campbell's Supa-Noodles.

So we now have Bachelors making a product that is intrinsically linked to Campbell's. Meanwhile Campbells are bringing out products that have always been best associated with Bachelors... Now can you understand my confusion.

I've just sent an email to Campbell's telling them to make sure they bring out a tinned soup as soon as the licensing allows. If you get a chance do the same and then wake me up in 5 years.

This cannot be allowed to happen.

It's a disgrace. I want you to write to your MP, your MEP, your MLA, your congressman... whatever applies. We need to organise rallies, petitions, non violent civil disobedience immediately. This is just wrong and someone needs to do something about it - it's time to make a stand.

Could someone tell me why anybody out there would possibly think it was a good idea to change the name of Campbell's Soup to Bachelor's.

Bachelor's!

Bachelor's make Super Noodles; they make Cup-a-Soup; Pasta Sauce... they do not make canned soup. There are iconic brands out there. Think of biscuits and you think McVities; think cereals and you think Kelloggs; think ketchup - Heinz; think of tinned soup... who did you think of? Bachelors? A brand being iconic doesn't make it the best; but it makes it iconic. I'm not suggesting that the soup will be any different taste-wise. But it won't be Campbell's.

Did Andy Warhol make a print of Cup-a-Soup? Would a pop art image of a supper noodle wrapper be as striking, as iconic as the tin of Campbell's Soup?

So I think you'll agree that changes (back) need to be made - as a matter of urgency. Do we really want a future where real food succumbs to the might of the army of dried food. I'll leave it in your hands.