Pepperidge  Farm  a popular brand in America  for  bakery products  such as  bread ( Raisin Cinnamon swirl) , crackers( Gold fish )  and cookies ( Milano ) . Competition  to Pepperidge  Farm  Inc  comes from  Kraft , Bimbo , Sara Lee , IBC  .

A  Report

This month, Campbell Soup Co. is commemorating 50 years of owning Pepperidge Farm Inc., the baking company still based in Norwalk, Conn., where it was founded in 1937.

That history makes Pepperidge Farm an anomaly for Camden-based Campbell, which in the second half of the 20th century built itself into a food conglomerate with well-known brands such as Swanson, Vlasic, Mrs. Paul's, and Godiva, as well as long-forgotten restaurant chains and even pet food.

Pepperidge Farm, purchased in January 1961, is the only free-standing U.S. business remaining from that era of diversification. Campbell bought V8 vegetable juice in 1948, but long ago integrated V8 operations into its soup plants.
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By contrast, Pepperidge Farm has not only kept its separate headquarters, but as a baking operation it also has its own plants - including those in Downingtown and Denver, Pa., where 150 million Goldfish tumble out of the ovens daily - and even its own distribution system.

Why, after a long period of scaling back to be more focused on soups, sauces, and beverages, has Campbell held on to Pepperidge Farm instead of selling it, as it did so many other businesses?

It's simple.

"We have a great growth story here at Pepperidge," Pat Callaghan, the bakery's president and a 31-year company veteran, said in an interview at the Norwalk headquarters, where founder Margaret Rudkin is revered - perhaps even more than condensed-soup inventor John T. Dorrance is in Camden.

Named after a tree that lined the driveway of Rudkin's farm in Connecticut, Pepperidge has become increasingly important to Campbell financially in the last decade.

In 2000, its $800 million in revenue accounted for 12.3 percent of Campbell's overall revenue. Since then, Pepperidge Farm's sales have climbed 88 percent, reaching $1.5 billion, or 19.5 percent, of the company's $7.7 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended Aug. 1.

Douglas R. Conant, Campbell's president and chief executive officer, sees Pepperidge Farm - along with a baked-goods subsidiary in Australia - as integral to Campbell's foundation.

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Campbell Soup marks 50 years as Pepperidge Farm's parent - Philly.com