Joseph A. Campbell was an ice box maker, precursor to the refrigerator. In 1869 Campbell founded a canning business in Camden, New Jersey, but it wasn’t a soup company at first. In 1897, chemist John T. Dorrance joined Campbell and invented condensed soup by removing much of the water, making the soup cheaper to ship, and affordable for ordinary families. Condensed soup transformed Campbell’s into a national brand. Campbell died in 1900, the same year the iconic red label debuted. Joseph Campbell didn’t invent condensed soup, nor did he design the red label, but he created the company that made all of that possible.
Growing Home - Joseph A. Campbell
