Canned soup summer: Bargain hunters are ditching snacks for pantry staples

Consumers are trying to saving money by preparing more meals at home and dining out less, boosting demand for pantry staples while denting snack brands and fast-food chains.

The humble bowl of soup is having a moment.

That’s according to The Campbell’s Co., whose iconic cans are synonymous with it. The food maker said Monday that customers are increasingly snatching up its condensed soups and mac-and-cheese offerings while shying away from snacks, a spending shift that partly echoes the depths of the pandemic.

“Consumers are cooking at home at the highest levels since early 2020,” Campbell’s CEO Mick Beekhuizen said in a statement.

The company — whose snack brands include Goldfish, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels and Cape Cod chips — saw snack sales slip 5% in the last three months. Meanwhile, sales of its meals and beverages rose 6%, mainly driven by Rao’s pasta sauces and soup sales in the United States.

While consumers’ outlooks have improved somewhat in recent weeks, many remain deeply pessimistic about the direction of the economy under President Donald Trump’s ever-shifting trade war and are looking for bargains.