Problem
Nestlé, the world's largest consumer packaged food company, rocked the food space in 2018 by leaving the industry's most powerful special interest group in the United States, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), amid disagreements about how to respond to changing consumer tastes. The GMA is famous as an attack group for large companies like Kraft and General Mills on US legislative and regulatory issues, but many major members now oppose some of its positions. The departure of Nestlé (a conglomerate that owns thousands of brands) was a major sign that the GMA's influence (and perhaps the whole food industry's influence) on US federal regulation may be weakening.
GMA's problems first emerged in 2014 when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a plan to start requiring foods to list "added sugars" on their labels by 2020. The GMA argued that such changes would only confuse consumers, but some members publicly disagreed. Mars (one of the largest private global food companies) argued that it was good for their businesses to embrace changes that they believed consumers increasingly wanted, and Coca-Cola bypassed GMA to tell the FDA that the new labels should be introduced sooner. According to one food marketing expert, "These companies are realizing that being more progressive is a good place to be...They get kudos for it."
Since 2016, more and more companies have left GMA. Last year, not only Nestlé but also Dean Foods (the largest dairy company in the US) and Campbell (maker of iconic red-and-white cans of soups, Goldfish crackers, and V8 juices) left, in part because the GMA found itself being mocked and scorned in the media for fighting bitterly against mandatory labeling for foods with genetically modified ingredients, or GMOs. The GMA, backed by scientists, highlight that there is currently no evidence that GMOs are unhealthy for consumption, but this has not stopped the rise of a widespread belief among consumers that they are somehow dangerous. Observing this, Campbell had already started GMO labeling on their own, arguing that part of their values would now embrace the idea that consumers should have more information about their food (regardless of whether they understand or appreciate what that information means). Campbell then then surprised the industry by joining the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), a new competitor to the GMA that represents alternative foods and "all natural" companies. The PBFA has lately been more effective at negotiating regulation than GMA, in part by arguing positions that are more popular with consumers (which make it and its members look good). Furthermore, PBFA membership dues for large companies like Campbell are only $25,000, much less than the $317,000 Campbell had been paying GMA.
Task
• Based on the information provided in the case, what does Campbell believe their whole product to be? What core and augmenting factors contribute to it?