The number of people cooking at home has hit the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic, Campbell’s says.
The soup company, which also makes Pepperidge Farm and V-8 products, has released new consumer behavior data amid heightened economic concerns.
Almost half the respondents to an April poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov described the current state of the economy as “poor.” Most Americans, 53 percent, believe the economy is getting worse, according to the poll.
“Consumers are cooking at home at the highest levels since early 2020,” Campbell’s CEO Mick Beekhuizen said on Monday, according to CNBC.
Five years ago, consumers were bracing for the impacts of the global pandemic. Due to massive lockdowns and millions of Americans staying home, unemployment rates skyrocketed, and consumer spending decreased.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of unemployed Americans reached 10.8 million, a 4.9 million increase from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the pandemic, average annual consumer expenditures dipped 2.7 percent, according to the bureau. Consumer spending for food purchased away from home and public transportation “decreased sharply,” the bureau said.
The Campbell’s CEO said there is a similar pattern emerging now with consumption in the company’s meals and beverages categories increasing among people of all incomes.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs is one of the factors fueling American economic uncertainty.
On April 2, Trump announced a baseline 10 percent tariff on imported goods from all nations on what he called “Liberation Day.” But several countries were hit with even higher tariffs, including some U.S. allies. Shortly after, Trump paused most of the tariffs for 90 days after Wall Street saw stocks plummet.
The Economist/YouGov poll showed just 41 percent of Americans approved of the way Trump was handling jobs and the economy, and 51 percent disapproved.
Regarding Trump’s tariffs, 56 percent of Americans said the administration had gone too far, according to the poll.
