Franco-American (brand)

Franco-American is a brand name of the Campbell Soup Company.

A can of Franco-American Spaghetti & Meatballs, 2009

The original Franco-American Food Company was founded by Alphonse Biardot, who immigrated to the United States from France in 1880. In 1886, he and his two sons opened a commercial kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey, featuring the foods of his native country. The company proved a success, particularly with its line of canned soup and pasta, and it was acquired by Campbell's in 1915.

Early trade card for the company, prior to 1900

The Franco-American name was phased out over the next two decades for soup products and in the late 1990s for pasta products. However their product line was still sufficient to continue advertising well into the 1970s, with Barry Manilow performing their jingle "Who Can? Franco Ameri-Can". On November 18, 2004, Campbell's announced it was discontinuing the name for pasta products in favor of its own, "to boost sales of what had been Franco-American's canned SpaghettiOs, RavioliOs and regular spaghetti, along with beef, chicken and turkey gravy varieties sold in cans and jars."

As of 2008, the Campbell Soup Company continues to sell gravy under the Franco-American name,^[1] along with a small line of condensed soups that appear to be similar to soups sold under the Campbell's brand.  As of December 2008, it appears that the soup line has been discontinued, but that the gravy line remains.

As of October 2009, it appears that the Franco-American brand included at least one pasta-based product—a “Spaghetti & Meatballs” product, at least for the Canadian market.

References