Cornucopia Episode 8 – The Interview with Michael Movitz of The Movitz Group

Following is a transcript of the interview by Matt Levine of Cornucopia Show podcast in mid-September, released on November 3, 2017

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MATT LEVINE:
We're here with Mike Movitz. Mike, good to have you back on Cornucopia. 

MICHAEL MOVITZ:
Thank you, Matt. Good to be back. 

MATT LEVINE:
Let's talk about Campbell's, a company that made canned foods a staple in every American kitchen and currently a company that's undergoing a lot of transformation. Before we begin I'll just read a list of a few of the brands they own: Prego, Spaghetti O's, Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, V8, Pace Salsa, Plum Organics baby food, and most recently the purchase of Pacific Foods, natural and organic soup maker. Mike, give us a little update on what Campbell's has been doing and why it's important in terms of this current shift in consumer focus away from more processed to less processed foods.

MICHAEL MOVITZ:
I think to understand where Campbell's is headed, we need to understand the context of what's happening in general in the traditional food world. There is a seismic shift taking place on many fronts. For one, consumer eating habits have changed dramatically. When we think about the idea of three square meals a day, only five percent of consumers are actually eating three square meals a day. That is a thing of the past. Ninety percent of consumers today snack multiple times a day, and the lines between snacking and a meal is blurring. There's changes in demographics; changes in how people are interacting with and thinking about the importance of good food in their life; a consumer’s ideas about a company’s transparency, how they relate to that company, how authentic a company is, the values that company has and do they relate to the consumer’s values; Of course, there is e-commerce, digital and mobile technology disrupting retail and our shopping and buying habits; home delivered meals, meal kits, and prepared foods; and the shift from what we call center store of non-perishable products to the perimeter departments where the refrigerated and fresher food departments are. Whether that's dairy, produce, deli, meat, seafood, prepared foods, et cetera. 

All of these changes have been occurring at a at breakneck speed, much faster than companies were prepared for, nor was it really foreseen coming. 

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