Progresso is a well-known American food brand. It is famous for its canned products, such as canned beans, soups, etc. Besides canned foods, people also adore its other edible products, including chili, broths, etc.
It has been 97 years since Progresso began its journey as a food processing brand. Its parent company changed several times in all those years, but quality never dropped.
Let’s learn where Progresso manufactures its soup in 2024.
General Mills, Inc. produces Progresso soup in Hannibal. It is a city in Missouri, United States, situated beside the Mississippi river. It has been a few years since General Mills began producing Progresso soup in that location.
Though General Mills has been preparing the soup in Hannibal recently, it was not always there. Progresso soup was manufactured in Vineland, New Jersey, till 2016.
After shutting down the food processing plant in Vineland, Progresso’s soup production was shifted to a production facility of General Mills in Hannibal, Missouri. In this way, the company could continue soup production.
Who manufactures Progresso soup?
As of 2022, General Mills is the manufacturer of Progresso soup. In addition, it has been producing the brand’s soup since 1969 and will continue to do so in the future.
General Mills, Inc. is an American multi-racial public incorporated company. This corporation is specialized in food processing and has processing plants all over the United States.
In 1856, Illinois Congressman Robert Smith founded the company and named it Minneapolis Milling Company. In the beginning, the founder took a lease of flour mills near the Mississippi river in Minnesota.
In the 1860s, Cadwallader C. Washburn purchased the company from Illinois Congressman Robert Smith. And he was the one that raised the company to the level we see today.
Cadwallader C. Washburn changed the company name in 1877 and renamed it Washburn-Crosby Company. And finally, in 1928, the company’s name became General Mills and remained the same to this date.
In 2022, the manufacturer of Progresso soup, General Mills’ chairman and chief executive officer is Jeffery Harmening. He has been in that position since 2017.
Around 35 thousand employees and workers work in General Mills. And it generates nearly 20 billion dollars in revenue every year. Moreover, the total assets of this corporation are estimated to be 32 billion dollars in 2022.
Is Progresso an American company?
The answer is yes. Progresso is purely an American company. Its origin lies in this country, and most of its soup is sold here. However, its founders were non-American but Italian.
In 1925, Joseph Uddo and Vincent Taormina established Progresso by merging their importing companies. Both of them were Italian by birth. However, the two founded the company in the United States Louisiana state.
Since then, Progresso has been working in the United States to prepare quality soups. It had a food processing plant in Vineland, New Jersey. However, it shut down in 2016.
So, Progresso is running its soup production process in a processing plant of General Mills in Hannibal, Missouri. From there, the company supplies its soup all over the United States and partially in Canada.
Who owns the Progresso company?
As of 2022, General Mill, Inc. is the owner of Progresso company. General Mills did not acquire the following soup company directly. Let’s learn how the company got Progresso under its command.
Vincent Taormina and Joseph Uddo established Progresso as an independent company. And it remained a free and private company till 1988.
In 1988, the Pillsbury Company purchased Progresso and Pillsbury was an independent company at that time. But in 2001, General Mills acquired the mother company of Progresso as a subsidiary company.
As a result, all the brands under Pillsbury Company went under General Mills. As Progresso was a subsidiary company of the following company, General Mills became the new owner of the soup company.
Is Progresso soup being discontinued?
The answer is no. Progresso is still on the market. But the company has been facing a downfall since the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, Progresso had to face difficulty in the production of soups and encountered a massive sales drop. The reason is that everyone was working from home. So, the canned soup was the least of everyone’s concerns.
As a result, Progresso had to shut down manufacturing 40 different types of flavors. Progresso’s fanbase started making angry and sad posts and reactions on social media.
As the pandemic is over, Progresso is progressing in its business again. Currently, only its most popular soup items are available in stores, such as
- Clam Chowder
- Noodle Soup
- Chicken Gumbo
- Sausage Gumbo
Is Progresso soup owned by Campbell’s?
The answer no. Progresso has no connection with Campbell’s. Progresso is a soup-producing company of General Mills. Besides, it never operated under Campbell’s previously.
Campbell’s is also a food processing company, especially soups, like General Mills. And its soups are sold under the Campbell Soup Company.
Though Campbell’s and Progresso are both soup producers. So, it is obvious that some people would tangle up these as one company. Anyways, Campbell’s is not the one that operates Progresso.
Wrap Up
Americans love canned foods as there is no hassle of cooking. Just cut the can open, put it in a bowl, and heat it in a microwave oven. It is as simple as that.
Progresso is an American product and has been preparing processed food for nearly 97 years. It is known for producing quality canned soups. So, it is a good match for people with a busy lifestyle in the USA.
Sources
- https://www.generalmills.com/news/stories/how-progresso-got-its-start – History Of Progresso (General Mills)
- https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/GIS.N/ – General Mills, Inc. Company Profile (Reuters)
