Checkout line - average American household stocks 8-10 cans of Campbell's soup

American Demographics, March, 1998 by Marcia Mogelonsky

Soup Is Good Food The average American household has 8 to 10 cans of Campbell's soup in its pantry, according to Campbell's Soup Company. The cupboards of young singles under age 35 probably fall short of this mark,though. They spend 40 percent less than expected on tinned soups, according to ACNielsen. But they spend almost twice as much as expected on frozen or refrigerated soups.

Refrigerated soups are considerably more expensive than canned or dry. Ease of preparation and portion control should make refrigerated soups an attractive alternative to singles of any age, but they have not caught on with older soup eaters. Singles aged 35 to 54 spend 7 percent less than expected on refrigerated soup. But they also spend 42 percent less than expected on canned soups.

Seniors aged 55 and older may have begun to figure out the convenience factor of refrigerated soups. They spend 8 percent more than expected on these products, and 12 percent less than expected on canned soups, according to ACNielsen.

Overall, however, canned soup still beats out refrigerated or frozen alternatives. The latter are found in only 5 percent of households, compared with a 95 percent penetration rate for canned. And shoppers buy canned soups an average of once every 29 days, compared with once every 61 days for the refrigerated products. But as fresh-soup stands and franchises such as Soup Nutsy become more popular in big cities, young singles may switch their allegiance once again, giving up refrigerated soups for hot, ready-to-go alternatives. Either way, food trend watchers like the NPD Group's Harry Balzer maintain that soup is a hot item.