Our heritage

A history of Campbell Soup Company and Arnott’s in Australia

The Campbell Arnott’s story began in 1865, when William Arnott opened a bakery on Hunter Street in Newcastle.

Four years later in Camden, New Jersey USA, fruit merchant Joseph Campbell created a business that would become the Campbell Soup Company.

From these early beginnings, two iconic businesses were built on foundations of quality and achieving the extraordinary.

In 1892, Arnott’s began its longest running advertising campaign – Arnott’s Living Pictures, which ran for 60 years.

Five years later, in 1897, Dr John T Dorrance, a graduate working for Campbell’s for $7.50 a week, invented condensed soup, revolutionising the canned soup market.

The Red & White label was added in 1898, and in 1900, Campbell's received the Gold Medallion for excellence at the Paris Exposition, which appears on cans to this day.

As the 19 th century closed, Campbell’s and Arnott’s were etched into history books as trusted businesses committed to ‘no substitute for quality’.

The new century brought an era of expansion, with both companies evolving into international, market-leading businesses.

In 1908, Arnott’s opened the Homebush bakery in Sydney.

During the 1950s, Arnott’s acquired companies including Morrow’s of Brisbane, Motteram’s of Adelaide, Mills & Ware of Fremantle, and Brockhoff’s of Melbourne.

Campbell's established a network of global subsidiaries – including Australia in 1961 – and moved outside the soup can.

Arnott’s looked beyond domestic markets to export, and added snack foods to its product range.

In 1997, these iconic companies joined together when Arnott’s became a part of the Campbell Soup Company.

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