#121 There’s a hair in my soup!
In 2007, just before the global financial crisis hit, Campbell Soup Company, the world’s largest producer of ready-made soups, was getting all jazzed up about Russia. Market research had shown that Russians are huge consumers of soup. More than 200 servings of soup per person per year added up to more than 32 billion (yes, billion!) servings of soup consumed annually in Russia. Campbell desperately wanted a piece of that pie – or, more appropriately a spoonful of that huge bowl. The opportunity looked even more appealing when Campbell discovered that almost each one of those billions of bowls of soup was homemade. Therefore, so Campbell, there was no competition to edge out of the market. The CEO of Campbell, Douglas R. Conant even bragged that Campbell was uniquely positioned like no other company because of their “unrivaled understanding of consumers’ soup consumption behavior”. I don’t know about my esteemed colleagues in academia or in practice, but when a product that is very successful in one market, is not available in another market, my gut feeling tells me that there is a reason for it. Usually, that’s a good reason to question one’s assumptions. Instead of questioning their assumptions, Campbell however started to develop new soup products for the Russian market. Under the umbrella of “Campbell’s Domashnaya Klassika”, the company was trying to make products “navaristy” enough, and brought mushroom, chicken, and beef soups to the Russian market. Fast forward to 2011. Russia is no longer that simmering hot market for Campbells, and it’s definitely not (only) the fault of the global financial crisis. Only when things got rocky, Campbell took a really close look not only into tastes, but also into patterns of preparation and consumption. It deployed anthropologists who noticed that only slowly were consumers’ lifestyles getting busier to the point that they started to use ready-made food products; their recommendation was to use soup or broth bases that facilitate cooking, but don’t replace it. Unfortunately, it might have been too late. Russian consumers were already turned off by the idea of consuming ready-made soup, and simply didn’t adopt Western food habits to the extent that Campbell had hoped for. On June 28, 2011, Campbell’s announced that it would abandon the Russian market. 32 billion bowls of soup continue to be homemade…
November 20, 2016 @ 4:58 pm
Cultural differences have to be taken serious from international companies. The consume of ready-made soups seems to be popular in the USA. This can be reducible to the fact that ready-made meals are common in the USA because many American people suffer a lack of financial resources and therefore rely on buying cheap food instead of spending money on high-quality food. Moreover, Americans tend to snatch a quick meal and do not want to spend a long time in the kitchen. That is why the Campbell Soup Company can ensure success in the USA.
As we could read in the blog post Russian people consume more than 32 billion servings of soup per year and of course, this is a good reason for a company to think about entering a market. However, this was exactly the mistake of the Campbell Soup Company. Instead of having a closer look at cultural characteristics of Russia, they just assumed that they will be successful in Russia too because of the high consume of soup. The American company ignored that Russians attach great value to family and traditions. It is common in Russia that a homemade meal is prepared by people on their own. One reason for this might be the communist times. Communism led to a creation of a fundamental fear and mistrust of those outside the family, extended family and other close familial connections. Therefore, it can be said that Russian people estimate a good homemade meal in a close circle of family and friends.
Of course, the Campbell Soup Company did a good job when producing soups adapted to the Russian cuisine but as already mentioned they forgot to think about cultural differences between the Russian and American market. While Americans prefer to consume ready meals, the Russian people would have liked meals, which facilitate the cooking.
Due to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, it can be seen that Russia has a high score in power distance (93) but on the other hand, they have low sore in individualism (39). This scores show that Russians seem very tough and serious in public but are very hot-hearted when being with family members or close friends. In conclusion, the Campbell Soup Company should have thought about that eating a meal in Russia is combined with a great enjoyment as well as spending time with family and friends, and cannot be compared with American eating habits.
References:
http://www.livescience.com/44154-russian-culture.html
https://geert-hofstede.com/russia.html
https://www.campbells.com/about-us/
November 28, 2016 @ 8:06 am
This is one major mistake a company could make when doing business in other countries. Campbell just saw a new market with high sales potential but did not consider that it might have a reason that ready-made soups are not sold in Russia. Although Russia has a high consumption of soups they prefer freshly and homemade soups. Due to the low individualism Russia is a country with people who define their self-image with WE. This means they belong to groups e.g. families and take care of their group in exchange for loyalty. Relationships are essential in a Russian life which is also a reason why they don’t like ready-made soup. Usually the women prepare the food for the whole family and everyone sits together, talks about their day and enjoys the company. It is more a social act rather than just food intake. Compared to America where everything has to be easy and quick and a rarity of families cook themselves and enjoy it. Furthermore Russia has a low score of masculinity which further underlines that Russian society is caring for others and quality of life which is not conform with Campbells soup. In addition the high power distance in Russia means they like status symbols and Campbells soup is considered as a cheap ready-meal with low quality. However, Campbells adapted to the different in taste and tried to adapt to Russians cuisine. They have already tried it in China quite at the same time as in Russia and it worked better there. However, I believe that in the future Campbells Soup will think thoroughly before entering a market and do lots of market research in order to avoid the same mistake.
December 19, 2016 @ 9:20 am
In my point of view it was a huge mistake to do not look at the differences in culture between Russia and the United States when implementing a new product in a new country. The company Campbell only did their researches on superficial facts. Of course then they thought a product for making a soup will be successful in the Russian market because the Russian love soups. But Campbell has not considered that there are cultural differences between these two countries and that there is a reason why ready-made soups haven’t success in Russia. Russia is in comparison to the United States a collectivism country. The United States is an individualism country. Therefore the Russian people care a lot about traditions and family. They have the image that they eat together with the whole family and that they prepare a healthy and self-made meal. That is why a ready-made soup would not have a breakthrough in such a market. In the United States this image is different. They are known for the fast-food industry and want to have a quick preparation for their meals.
Furthermore, the Russian culture have a high uncertainty avoidance score (95). In comparison the United States only has a score of 46 for uncertainty avoidance. Due to this fact I believe that Russian people would not purchase a product where they do not know exactly which ingredients this dish has. They are cautious and need information before they try something new.
In conclusion is to say that it is an essential point when entering a new market to have an eye on the cultural aspects and characteristics of the country to achieve success.
December 20, 2016 @ 7:47 pm
This example of Campbell Soup Company shows very good that there are several things a company has to consider when entering a new market. There might not only be a different language or different tastes, that are preferred in a country – also a cultures consumption habit can be the reason for failure.
Let’s take a look at the cultural dimensions of Russia. According to Hofstede Russia is a country with a high score on the dimension “Uncertainty Avoidance” (95). This score shows that Russians tend to be afraid about the fact that the future is unknown. Campbell Soup Company tried to make the Russians familiar with their soups by offering familiar ingredients, like mushroom, chicken and beef, in order to lower the uncertainty. And also the adaptation of the name of the soup (“Campbell’s Domashnaya Klassika”) should have helped them to become established.
But on the other hand we can see that not only an appropriate package or taste is helpful for entering a new market and being successful there, also consumption habits have to be considered. And here was the problem: Campbell Soup Company offered their soup as a substitute and not as a facilitator in the kitchen. As Russia is a country which has a high score on “Collectivism”, they place great importance on relationships, family and friends and spending time together. Campbell Soup Company did not consider that Russians rather cook their soups for their families on their own and do not need ready-made soups. They – if at all – use broth bases as a condiment.
All in all this case shows that even big companies are sometimes blinded by some facts, that may sound tempting in the first moment (like the huge soup consumption figures). What other companies could definitely learn from it is not to underestimate the influence of culture.
December 22, 2016 @ 3:04 pm
This example shows very well, that just doing a market research when entering a market in a different country is not enough. It’s very important what the research is about. Campbell did a market research about the different tastes and how Russians call their favourite soup, but they didn’t include the cultural differences. The others pointed already the differences between the American and Russian culture and the reasons for not being successful out. The Russian culture is in each dimension the complete opposite of America’s.
However, I think that with the gained information of the second conducted research, which included the cultural differences, Campbell could try to enter the market again. When they tried to change it the first time, it was too late but also too soon as they had already a bad image. But Russians still have the need of facilitating their cooking and with the right strategy, image and a different brand, they could still become successful and get a “spoonful of that huge bowl”.
December 23, 2016 @ 1:11 pm
In my opinion when Campbell decided to launch its products on the Russian market they just focused on the numbers of sales and customers but it seems they just did a mini market research and they barely thought about the huge cultural distinctions between the USA and Russia. When you take Hofstede’s dimension into consideration in combination with this blog post the differences between these two countries can be seen very quickly.
I’d like to point out that Individualism is quiet low and Uncertainty Avoidance is high in Russia, which is shows that people in Russia focus on traditions and their culture. They are a very collectivistic country and the “we” is more important than the “I”. Due to the fact that people in Russia love ready-made-soup and that Campbell even adapted its soups to their usual tastes and recipes, Russians did not buy it. In this context they favor their kind of ready-made-soups. They are not as open minded as Americans and they stick to the things they are used to. When the anthropologists recognized this, and recommended replacing the usual Campbell-soup with soups and broth bases that facilitate cooking instead of replacing it, it was way too late. I have the feeling that at this point Russians weren’t even interested in Campbells soup anymore because Campbell missed their chance. In addition to that it was the best decision to abandon the Russian market.
In my opinion Campbell could have had more success if they would have done market research and if they would have taken a look at the cultural aspects and differences between Russia and USA. Even though Campbell adopted the ingredients to the expectations of Russians, they didn’t think of the different way of life in Russia. The Russian behavior, the culture, the things people in Russia believe in are completely different than in America. Family, tradition and well known things are very important to them. Of course, do Americans also take care of their families and have cultural preferences but they are open minded, they search for innovations and the “I” is more important than the “we”.
These are just 2 of Hofstede’s dimension but these two show very clear the cultural differences between two countries. From my point of view it is necessary to take differences like this into consideration before you decide to enter a new market.
March 2, 2017 @ 4:19 pm
While reading this case I really had to smile. Since I used to study and work in Russia for approximately one and a half years I got to know the Russian culture, certain country-specific habits, such as eating habits very well. In contrast to most western industrialized countries, Russians have a totally different way of living and working. I do not want to overgeneralize or stereotype. However, what I have experienced is that Russians do not live in order to work but they work in order to live. Their attitude towards life is a different one and thus leisure time is tremendously important and social events, such as having a meal are valued much more. Russians enjoy their meals – even if it’s just a soup. Time does not matter so much in Eastern European cultures. Russians prefer homemade soups even if the quality is similar or even worse. Cooking itself is a social event as well. On the one hand, the Campbell Soup Company did a good job analyzing the Russian market size. On the other hand, they absolutely underestimated the impact culture has. It would have been as if not even more important to do marketing researches on if people would buy ready-made soups or find out when they do eat soups. From my experience, it’s not like in the West where people require meals that are cheap and quickly to prepare. From my point of view, Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions should have been the starting point for Campbell Soup’s expansion strategy. With little to no experience on the Russian market, knowhow should have been gained first, for example through chambers of commerce, Russian FMCG consultants and so on.
March 11, 2017 @ 4:10 pm
In my opinion the case Campbell illustrates very well what happen if a company don’t complete the research about the product readiness for a foreign market. Campbell were impressed and controlled by the potential outlook of the market they have saw in the market.
Of course, it is right that Campbell has done their homework and have correctly identified Russia as a potential growth market for the company. Further, the company spent a lot of money in research, asking consumer to find out what they like and in advertisement. But they were not able to influence the Russian way of doing things. Why? Because they have forgot to evaluate or to consider the cultural orientation of the Russian in detail and to compare the results with the home market.
If they had done so, they had recognized that Russian has a conservative food culture and cooking the soup by themselves is part of the Russian tradition. Further, compared to Americans for Russians quality of the results and spending time with the family have more relevance than using cheap and time savings products. Additionally, they had observed that the cost for goods compared to saving time for cooking has been of less importance for Russian.
However, I think a detailed observation of the cultural difference concerning cooking behavior had led to the result that at that time products which facilitator the homemade soup will fit better for the Russian market than a substitute product. An additional benefit of this approach may have been that when the market is ready for substitute products Campbell is already in the market.
The main lesson companies can learn from Campbell is that it is important to spend time and money to consider the product readiness relating to culture orientation and tradition before entering a new market.
March 12, 2017 @ 5:04 pm
When I heard about the “Campbell case” in class and read the blog I started to ask myself why the company did so little research about the Russian market before entering it. Their “research” only touched the surface or the upper end of the funnel. They identified that Russians consume 32 billion servings of – mostly homemade – soup annually. They missed out to do a deep dive into the Russian market and culture and try to understand preferences and consumer habits. Their focus was only on high-level hard facts. They totally neglected the “soft facts” of the market. Maybe if they would have made a survey on people´s “soup habits” or tested their products in the Russian market (on fairs, in shops, etc.) it would have been easy to find out more in particular about habits of preparation and consumption. In addition to that I ask myself what made them so confident that Russians will possibly change their habits and start to appreciate ready-made soup. Harry Domicone mentioned the term “managerial myopia” in class and it somehow reminded me of Campbell. What made them think that Russians will change their soup consumption habits overnight? I think that passion and enthusiasm for a new idea is very important but it sometimes makes you forget do think about the possible risks and downturns. I think that this is what happened at Campbell. The CEO got so excited about the alleged potential of the Russian market that he oversaw to do a thorough research. Maybe he was (or is) such a strong CEO and personality that no one dared to challenge his idea.
March 18, 2017 @ 3:27 pm
I would like to comment to Campbell’s decision to enter the Russian market through a step by step analyzing approach when entering a new market:
1. Corporate Readiness: Campbell founded in 1869 is a relatively old and large sized company of the food industry. It is an American company, which also strongly supports with its products the American life-style, in which fast and quickly prepared food are part of an American’s daily life. Campbell tried to take this American concept into the Russian market just due to the fact that more than 32 billion servings of soup are consumed annually in Russia. This fact about Russian soup consumption and the relatively large financial resources of Campbell at that time were enough valuable reasons for Campbell to enter the Russian market with Campbell soup products.
2. Product Readiness: Even though Campbell customized their soups for the Russian market by Russian language labels on the soup packages and the creation of specific flavors for the Russian market, Campbell totally ignored the cultural and social norms of the Russian culture. If Campbell would have used Hofstede’s cultural dimension, it would have recognized that Individualism in Russia with 39 is relatively low. Russians love to spend time with family and friends. Their culture to prepare homemade soup goes hand in hand with the Russian’s culture to spend time with their families and friends. Hence, the ready made soups of Campbell would only distract this valuable family time of the Russian culture.
3. Target Market Selection: Even though, Campbell shows a pro-active move to grow their business, Campbell clearly missed out to do proper research on the Russian Market before entering it, otherwise Campbell would have understood right from the beginning that due to the cultural differences in Russia, a ready made soup will not lead to any success. Moreover, by not doing a proper market analysis, Campbell also missed out on more profitable alternative markets instead of Russia.
4. Entry Mode: Campbell should have tried to receive some external but local consultant before entering the Russian market, because this might have already helped Campbell to focus on other markets rather than Russia.
All in all, I would like to conclude that Campbell clearly should have done proper market research before entering the Russian market as no matter which market is chosen a major success in each market entry is the response from customers, which Campbell left totally out of its whole market entry strategy, causing the failure of Campbell to place its products in the Russian market.
March 26, 2017 @ 3:27 pm
After reading this interesting summary of the U.S. Campbell Soup Company’s market entry into Russia, it is easy to understand why this giant soup producer failed in the world’s second largest soup market.
Firstly though, the cocky statement from the Campbell CEO about having “unrivaled understanding of consumers soup consumption behavior” could have served as a forewarning in a culture which has specific, untranslatable words for soup.
When analyzing how Campbell went about introducing itself to Russia, one can see that only some factors of the market entry process model were taken into consideration. Was there Corporate Readiness? Definitely. Campbell did its research – and having a share of the 32 billion servings of soup could not be ignored. What about Product Readiness? Well, this is where Campbell only did its homework partially. Yes, it did adapt its product by introducing specially developed soup for the Russian Market. However, it should have entered the market initially with its “soup or broth bases that facilitate cooking.” This way, it would not have caused such an aversion to its ready-made soups and would have eased Russians into a new, modern way of preparing soup. And its Target Market Selection was mainly directed by the profits which Campbell thought were to be made in Russia – without analyzing the core questions: “Who is my competition?” and then “Can canned soup compete with homemade soup?”
It should have been obvious to Campbell that this country views “their soup” as a tradition which cannot be swapped with a ready-made replacement.
June 11, 2017 @ 1:58 am
If a company wants to launch its product in a foreign market; they must be extra careful in order to avoid or at least lower the most possible the probability of failure. Every nation has its own culture, customs, habits, traditions, way of life, way of thinking; even some countries (the majority of their population) are very attached to their religious ways. All of these criteria has to be taken into consideration before any company moves into a foreign market.
Companies must extensively research about the foreign market they want to enter. This way they will have a better understanding of the market, hence, a segmentation of the target market will be easier to define. But not only that, it would also help to determine if their product is ready for such market. Maybe they would need to adapt their product to the new market, just like this case talks about. Campbell Soup had to learn new soup recipes that were popular in Russia and then produce the ready-make soups. Sadly, even this effort was not enough to be successful in the Russian market.
It seems that Campbell Soup did not do a good job on understanding the culture of the Russian market. As it turns out that Russians are very traditional and their way of life is not as fast paced as in the US. So they have pride on their home made soups which recipes have been passed on from generation to generation. This was something that Campbell Soup didn’t see or understood. The Russian market was not ready for ready-made soup and it cost Campbell Soup to fail in this market.
June 29, 2017 @ 7:34 pm
When I read this topic at this blog after talking about the ‘Campbell case’ in class I started to ask myself why Campbell, the world’s largest producer of ready-made soups, only did so little market research before entering the Russian market. They focused only on hard-facts but really missed out the deep dive into the Russian market. They forgot that every country has its own culture, traditions, habits, lifestyle and way of thinking. All of these criteria should have been taken into consideration by Campbell before moving into a foreign market. I think it was obvious for the company that Russians would not replace their traditional soup with a ready-made one from the supermarket.
July 8, 2017 @ 5:54 pm
First of all, I would like to mention that it is not enough just doing a simple market research when entering a new country as you can see in this example. The Campbell Soup Company had information about the huge food consumption in Russia, but they didn’t take a look on the cultural differences between the USA and Russia concerning food habits. The company ignored that in Russia are friends and family very important as the low individualism score in Hofstede’s dimension shows. So sitting together having dinner and preparing their soup on their own is an information Campbell has overseen. In conclusion, having a look at a deeper analysis like Hofstede’s dimensions to explain differences in cultures would have helped Campbell to avoid a situation like this.
July 9, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
This example perfectly shows what can go wrong if market research only scratches the surface. Probably the main issue was that Campbell just saw the alleged potential regarding the huge amount of soup consumed, and they wanted to establish themselves on the market before any of their competitors could take this step. Given the fact that Campbell is a major company, the resources to place their product on the Russian market were there. Unfortunately, and this is what we can learn from this specific case, market research did not at all focus on consumer behaviour regarding this specific market. Dealing with a market’s culture and customer’s behaviour before entering the market is crucial when seeking for success in foreign markets, so products can be adapted and modified to fit the requirements of the target market.
July 9, 2017 @ 7:18 pm
This case shows once again how important it really is to analyze the market to be developed. It is not only a mistake, it is fatal if cultural differences are simply overlooked like this. Especially in the food industry, there are important details and differences in every country, which must not be ignored. It is of utmost importance to know the target customer’s taste and behavior in order to be truly successful in a country. If the Campbell Soup Company would have done market research in this field, they would have had a high chance of getting a piece of the cake. If they at least had had a look at Hofstede’s Dimensions they would have noticed that there is a high power distance (93) compared to the USA (40) and that they have to take a closer look at the behavior of their Russian target group.
July 9, 2017 @ 8:59 pm
This example shows very clearly, that at the company Campbell did only very superficial research and the mission to introduce their ready meal soup to Russia was doomed to fail. They should have made more qualitative research in order to get the right information and not only some figures which do not consider cultural differences. As I grew up bilingually and within an Eastern and Western European culture this outcome is really no surprise for me. Homemade soup in eastern countries is basic food and there is no meal without it. This is obvious also for people who only visited eastern countries and talked to someone. What I want to say is that this is really not some secret information and that failure could have been easily avoided.
September 16, 2017 @ 5:35 am
Campbell Soup Company was ambitious to think that they would be able to come into the country where soup is not just a food, but a staple of culture. They were on the right track with the idea of providing an easier way to enjoy their favorite food without the hassle of long preparation. What the company failed to recognize was that it was not just a food, as they were used to it being thought of in America. Soup is a piece of culture and tradition. Most of the Russian soup recipes are traditions that have been handed down for centuries and represent their heritage and culture. It can be easy to see why the people of the country would not rush to embrace the ability to cheapen its authenticity. I can imagine that part of the pride that comes into play with the preparation of the soup is the family recipe that is used and the rituals involved for its unique taste. Final, as you mentioned, American culture has been known to view time as quantity rather than quality, so for our culture, the need for sustenance and nourishment is appreciated in a quick activity, while in the Russian culture, they tend to be more time quality focused and value the time spent with family or preparing a feast. These are things that should have been examined when Campbell’s decided to enter the Russian market. It was never about the soup, but the meaning behind the soup it was attempting to replicate.
Russian Soups and Borsch. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Mendeleyev Journal – Live From Moscow: https://russianreport.wordpress.com/russian-cuisine-main-salads-soups-desserts/borsch-%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%89/
January 4, 2018 @ 6:24 pm
This is a prime example of a company not adhering to the systematic process of market entry. They were perhaps too greedy and didn’t fully do the research that was necessary. In the United States we have a mentality and lifestyle of everything face paced and on the go. That’s why Campbell Soups exploded into the American market the way they did. Something to just pop in the microwave sounded great for our active lifestyles. Other countries however don’t rush around the same way we do and prefer to take the time to cook and use fresh ingredients. Apparently Russia is one of these. Perhaps Campbell could have done some market research and given out samples or surveys before entering a whole new international market a bit blindfolded. It is important to follow the systematic process that has been used for generations. Companies that skip steps or don’t do all of the research before jumping into a new market, blinded by greed, will ultimately fail. If they had done the research and offered the broth bases to make money, while still allowing them to adhere to their culture and cook the soup themselves they would have made a killing.
March 15, 2018 @ 10:15 pm
Was Campbell with its product (soups) really ready for the Russian market? Did they have the right product for the Russians?
While considering the different steps for product readiness they should (at a pretty early stage) have recognized, that their soups despite their huge success in the US (with a culture that has no special/intense relation to quality food/time for food/connection of food and social aspects) face a quite different culture in Russia.
The company should have recognized in a next step, that even with adaption of their product, the Russian culture seems not open to ready-made products: despite Russians being generally attracted to foreign products (believing them to be higher quality), many Russians belief that Russian products are more authentic and give their loyalty to Russian companies.
The simple facts that the majority of the Russian families eat at home and that they do indeed eat a lot of soup were not enough to enter the market. A deeper analysis and research of especially societal aspects would have been necessary.
Russians try to always have food at home and long years of deficiency have accustomed them to do food stocks. Russian women would never serve ready-made food to their guests. Being able to invite guests at home and present to them everything they have (and of course have prepared themselves), is a core value in the Russian society and certainly also connected to soviet times (when there was a shortage in products and women could show their skill in preparing a tasty dish “from nothing”).
Moreover, a lot of Russian families have a country house which serves as a place where greenery, vegetables, and fruits are grown.
The key success factor in the US (low price, no preparation time) was just not convincible in Russia, as cooking and eating together is an important value in the Russian society.
Therefore, it was correct to leave the market again, as adaptation would not have led to success either.
Christine Moorman (18 Feb 2014), The riddle of marketing in Russia; found on: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2014/02/18/the-riddle-of-marketing-in-russia/#3cb1a65d233e
July 4, 2018 @ 8:04 pm
In my opinion this really shows how global companies are trying to adapt to local markets. In this case Campbells discovered a potential and thought they have done enough research. They even made completely different soups for the Russian market but nevertheless they did not succeed within the market. But why did this happen? Quite a difficult question but the possible answer is that Campbells did not understand the Russian culture correctly. Even though the lifestyle is changing and is getting busier Russia never exploited the potential that Campbells expected from the market. The fact that Russians have a strong family connection and like to eat their meals together with their large family might have had a crucial impact on this.
February 9, 2022 @ 8:35 pm
I do not think Campbell did research on the cultural aspect of soup in Russia. I also think as of the financial situation in the country it will be cheaper for them to make a lot of homemade soup and freeze it than to buy already made soup. The campbells soups are often sold in portion sizes and Russians eat dinner with their big families and it would be very inconvenient to prepare a lot of portion sized boxes/bags of soup it would also not be frozen as well as it is already made to last. Also because of the financial situation in Russia they do grow a lot of their own ingredients to the soups and financially it would not make sense to buy already made soup. I also assume their large consumption of soup is due to the financial situation and soup is an inexpensive meal that can be made for many and frozen to last over weeks.
April 7, 2022 @ 6:13 pm
It is clear as to why Campbell’s failed in this international market, and this case proves that analyzing your target market is critical before entering a new country. I do not blame Campbell’s for wanting to introduce their product into Russia, especially with the statistic that they consume more than 32 billion servings of soup per year. I think that Campbell’s got too excited and entered the market too quickly without doing an analysis on the demographics and people habits throughout Russia. The fact that there was no competition should have raised questions for Campbell’s, as this country was set in its own ways when it came to making their soups. I think that the idea of creating products that help facilitate cooking but not replace should have been Campbell’s initial strategy. The Russian population might have been more inclined to purchase these types of products instead of the pre-made soups, but unfortunately, the brand had already associated itself with ready-made soups which turned off customers. I think that Campbell’s should have done a deeper analysis of the country, as they are successful in America and other countries making them a reputable and well-known brand. By learning from these mistakes, they might have another chance at entering the Russian market.
December 21, 2023 @ 3:20 pm
Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my cousin were just preparing to do a little research about this. We grabbed a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such great info being shared freely out there…
December 25, 2023 @ 10:19 pm
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