Progresso facts for kids
Progresso logo
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| Industry | Food processing |
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| Founded | New Orleans, Louisiana (1925) |
| Founder | Vincent Taormina, and Joseph Uddo |
| Parent | General Mills |
Progresso is a well-known American food brand. It's part of a bigger company called General Mills. Progresso makes many tasty things you can find in cans. These include different kinds of canned soups, broths, and chili. They also make canned beans and other handy food products.
How Progresso Started
Progresso began when two Italian companies joined forces. These companies were in New Orleans, Louisiana. They both focused on bringing in goods from other countries.
In 1925, two important people met. Vincent Taormina had started a business importing tomatoes. Giuseppe Uddo already had a national canning business. They decided to combine their companies. Vincent's family owned a store called "Taormina Brothers Grocery."
Their tomato business was very successful. They had more orders than they could handle. They needed more money to build bigger canning factories. Giuseppe Uddo helped by bringing his established business. Together, they formed "The Uddo and Taormina Corporation."
They created the Progresso name for their products. They specialized in canned Italian foods. Over time, their main products became soup, olive oil, tomatoes, spaghetti, ravioli, and beans. They have been selling these items since 1949.
Over the years, Progresso changed owners a few times. In 1979, a company called Ogden Corporation bought Progresso. Later, in 1986, Ogden Foods sold it to Pet, Inc.. Then, in 1995, Pillsbury Company bought Pet, Inc. Finally, General Mills bought Pillsbury in 2001. That's how Progresso became part of General Mills.
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How Progresso Sells Its Soups
For the past 20 years, Progresso soup has been seen as a more special choice. It's often picked instead of the main market leader, Campbell. Many people also use Progresso soups as a quick and easy meal replacement.
When Progresso first became popular, its cans were bigger. Their soups were also "ready-to-heat." This meant you didn't need to add water like with condensed soups. These features helped Progresso become well-liked.
Later, Campbell's started making similar "Chunky" soups. This was their way of competing with Progresso. Since then, Campbell's has also made many ready-to-eat soups. They did this to keep up with Progresso's new ideas.
