Campbell set to launch upscale soup line

[Andrew Fenton]

Not sure how well soup-in-a-box will go down there, maybe? I could never find the pureed tomatoes in a box from Italy when I was in the US (not shopping at the right place, probably).

Yah, you can get those in the US: my local supermarket has them. But it's definitely true that there are way fewer boxed liquid foods in the US than elsewhere in the world. Why is that, I wonder?

[SuzySushi]

Not sure how well soup-in-a-box will go down there, maybe? I could never find the pureed tomatoes in a box from Italy when I was in the US (not shopping at the right place, probably).

Yah, you can get those in the US: my local supermarket has them. But it's definitely true that there are way fewer boxed liquid foods in the US than elsewhere in the world. Why is that, I wonder?

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I think US consumers are still suspicious of shelf-stable liquids in aseptic boxes, except when it comes to kids' juice drinks, which we've accepted wholeheartedly. Certainly boxed milk has never made it big here though it outsells refrigerated milk in France, for instance. Campbell's is now offering its Swanson broths in aseptic cartons; I don't know how well they're performing compared to cans.

Manufacturers might have to do an "education" campaign to get aseptic packages more widely accepted in the USA.

[judiu]

Aseptic shelf-stable packaging is BRILLIANT. I'm single and don't cook a large quantity of anything anymore, so the one cup sizes are perfect. Wish I could get back into cooking "real food"; I miss it. If I do, though, I end up with so much I'm eating it for a week!

[Gifted Gourmet]

But it's definitely true that there are way fewer boxed liquid foods in the US than elsewhere in the world.  Why is that, I wonder?

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I, too, wonder at this .. is it perhaps because of the cost to the manufacturer or the difficulty/cost of using metal cans in other countries.

Is the United States 'backward' in not using the boxed liquid food containers because they are more difficult to make?

Can anyone answer Andrew's question with more knowledge?

[Bux]

I don't have any knowledge on the subject, but I'd guess that plants fully equipped to can soups, or any other products, would have to dismantle perfectly good operating facilities and replace them with new equipment. Thus new technology is bound to arrive at different times in different places as existing equipment wears out or as the cost benefits outweigh the cost of changing over. Consumer acceptance is probably another factor. People who buy canned soups probably feel comfortable doing just that and manufacturers are reluctant to move unless then sense it will benefit them with greater sales and greater profits. For what it's worth, I see a lot of boxed broths and stocks on the shelves, but frequently it's brands that hadn't already made a name for themselves in cans and presumably haven't had an investment in canning equipment.