Campbell’s out to prove low sodium can be tasty

This fall Toronto-based Campbell Company of Canada began a rollout of its new Blue Band sodium-reduced soups. And with 25-per-cent less sodium than its regular soups, the company is hoping to prove to customers that healthy can also equal tasty.

The soups, which will continue to be introduced into early 2011, currently include 34 low-sodium versions of Campbell’s popular varieties, including Condensed, Campbell’s creations, Light Ready to Enjoy, Chunky and Gardennay. Consumers can identify the soups by the distinctive blue band around the top of the label.

Campbell’s is hoping the new line won’t be a hard sell to Canadians, especially as the results of a new national survey show that roughly one-third of consumers believe they have to sacrifice taste for a lower-sodium diet.

The survey was conducted by Omnibus, and included interviews with more than 1,000 Canadians across the country. As well as finding differences in taste perceptions according to age and gender, it found that 53 per cent of Quebecers, 43 per cent of Ontarians, and 44 per cent of Western Canadians believed it would be harder to enjoy a low-sodium diet than spending the holidays with their in-laws.

At the same time, the survey showed that 88 per cent of consumers think lower-sodium foods can still be delicious – something Campbell Canada believes is achievable through reformulating existing recipes and using wholesome ingredients. “We are continuing our heritage of using ingredients that deliver full, wholesome flavour, such as using Ontario-grown vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions in our products,” says Campbell Canada president Phil Donne. “We take pride in bringing Canadians affordable, delicious, wholesome foods with no artificial colours or flavours.”

Campbell began reducing sodium in its products more than seven years ago, and has been recognized for its leadership efforts in sodium reduction.