Jimmy Fallon was less than eager to try Progresso’s chicken noodle soup-flavored hard candies, or “soup drops,” which General Mills released earlier this month.
“I tried it,” “The Tonight Show” host said last week, “and it sucks.”
Pun intended or not, that seems to be the point of this publicity stunt: attention, at any cost, for the struggling brand.
General Mills released a run of the soup-flavored lozenges in limited quantities online for just a few Thursday mornings in January. Progresso is relying on a combination of exclusivity and must-try weirdness to put more eyes on the brand and more cans in grocery carts.
It seems to be working: The first batch sold out in less than an hour.
“We took the beloved flavors of our Progresso chicken noodle soup and packed them into a fun, savory candy soup drop for a totally new way to enjoy the taste you love whenever and wherever you want,” MC Comings, business unit director for Progresso at Golden Valley-based General Mills, said in a news release.
The cans of soup drops, which run $2.49 plus shipping, also come with a regular can of Progresso’s chicken noodle soup.
Progresso is a small part of General Mills’ overall portfolio, representing about 5 percent of retail sales, according to Jefferies research. But it remains a big name in the soup aisle, with about 16 percent market share. Competitor Campbell’s takes in nearly half of all retail dollars spent on soup.
Campbell’s and Progresso both saw soup sales decline throughout last year and 2023, according to Nielsen data. And where Progresso did see some sales spikes, it was from price increases. The brand has struggled to consistently sell more soup year over year.