• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 6, 2018

After three years of sales declines, Campbell Soup Company is reorganizing its core business units under the leadership of Luca Mignini, newly promoted to chief operating officer.

The company also announced the creation of an “accelerator” unit designed to invest in and support growth sectors. Campbell Fresh, dedicated to the fast-growing packaged fresh category, will become part of the new unit, which is also charged with long-term innovation, small-band incubation, future consumer experiences, e-commerce and new distribution models.

Mignini, 55, is currently president of the global biscuits and snack unit, a growth bright spot that now accounts for about a third of Campbell’s sales. That group includes Arnott’s, Kelsen, the new Campbell Snacks unit — combining Pepperidge Farm and the recently acquired Snyder’s-Lance snacks business — and the simple meals and shelf-stable beverages business in Asia Pacific and Australia.

In addition, he will now oversee meals and beverages, which includes the soup, simple meals and shelf-stable beverages portfolios; the Plum Organics, Pacific Foods, North America Food Service, Canada and Latin America businesses; the company’s U.S. sales organization; and the global product development group within research and development.

Mignini will report to president and CEO Denise Morrison, 64. Industry observers note that his promotion to COO and expanded roles put him in line for succession to the top position.

Like other major CPG makers, Campbell has been pushing to transform to respond to consumers’ increasing preference for fresh, clean foods and beverages. Campbell, which has seen its stock decline about 10% year-to-date, has been aggressively expanding its snacks and packaged fresh offerings and working to reduce its reliance on its flagging soup business.

 “The transformative Snyder’s-Lance acquisition served as a catalyst for us to reexamine how to best organize the company for increased emphasis on execution and profitable growth,” stated Morrison. “This strategic reorganization — focused on our core, the integration of recent acquisitions, the Campbell Fresh turnaround and long-term growth— provides the right structure for us to optimize the value of our businesses today, while creating future-oriented capabilities. It will simplify our operations, improve our execution and enable us to allocate resources with a greater focus on profitable growth.”

Before joining Campbell in 2013 as president of Campbell International, Mignini served for two years as CEO of the Findus Italy division of IGLO Group, Europe’s largest frozen food business. Before that, he worked at SC Johnson for more than 20 years.

Mignini “has proven himself a superb strategist and strong executor, with a keen understanding of the critical details of all of [Campbell’s] businesses,” said Morrison, adding that he helped engineer the Snyder’s-Lance acquisition while leading the company’s best-performing division.