Campbell Soup Co. is getting a bump from retailers stocking up on its product and other canned foods in response to the coronavirus epidemic, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The soup giant told the Journal it’s treating the outbreak as it would a storm or other natural disaster, making sure it has extra ingredients and finished products on hand in case of temporary port or factory closures.
“We made the decision last week to produce more where we had the flexibility, to strengthen inventory levels,” Chief Executive Mark Clouse told The Journal.
“We are all trying to figure out what this means, and what it’s going to look like,” Clouse said about retailers.
Grocers and other retailers have said some consumers are buying up staple foods and cleaning supplies out of concern the virus’s spread will leave them stuck at home.
Sales of Campbell’s soups and other products also rose when Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012, during hurricanes in Texas and Florida in 2017 and ahead of winter storms last year. The company said in each of those instances that the sales bumps didn’t materially boost earnings overall.
“We are trying to be supportive during a very difficult situation,” Clouse told The Journal.
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