Many large food businesses like the Campbell Soup Company, which had seen steady declines in soup sales the last two years, are now
ramping up production and temporarily increasing wages for hourly employees to meet the higher demand. In the last month,
sales of Campbell’s soup soared 59 percent from a year earlier.
Prego pasta sauce increased 52 percent, and sales of its Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers climbed nearly 23 percent.
Similarly,
Kraft Heinz, whose products had fallen far out of favor with consumers, resulting in massive write-downs in the values of its
Kraft natural cheese and Oscar Mayer cold cuts businesses a year ago, told investors last week that some of its factories were working three shifts to meet high demand for products like its macaroni and cheese. The company’s stock rose on Tuesday after it said first-quarter sales would be up 3 percent.
And Conagra Brands, which had reported a decline of more than 5 percent in net sales for the quarter ending Feb. 23, said its shipments to retailers and in-store sales in March had grown 50 percent as demand increased for
Slim Jim jerky snacks, Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Chef Boyardee pastas.
