Progresso

A can of Progresso brand bread crumbs.

For other uses, see Progreso (disambiguation).

Progresso foods is an American company that was founded by Sicilian born Vincent Taormina in 1905 and specializing in canned Italian food products, mostly soup and beans, sold since 1949. Up until the 1970s, it was a family-owned company. It is now owned by General Mills.

Over the last 20 years, Progresso was often seen as an upmarket alternative to market leader Campbell, and as a meal replacement. The cans were larger than Campbell's and came ready to heat rather than being condensed, both of which helped them attain popularity before Campbell's released the similar "Chunky" line of products. Campbell's Soup Company has since gone on to produce several lines of ready-to-eat soups in reaction to Progresso's innovations.

Progresso produces bread crumbs and Chickarina soup, which comes in 19 oz cans with pop-top lids. Chickarina has a chicken broth base, the other ingredients being small pearls of pasta, chicken, mini-meatballs, celery and carrots. It is similar to Italian wedding soup.

External links

• http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/prod_progresso.asp
• http://progressofoods.com/