PARIS — Despite the current year profit underperformance, Campbell Soup Co. is confident its global snack business will be a long-term contributor, said Craig Owens, senior vice-president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J. Mr. Owens spoke to analysts June 19 as part of the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference in Paris.

“Pepperidge’s success with Goldfish has truly been phenomenal,” Mr. Owens said. “We have moved up the lead table steadily over the last few years. I think we are the No. 2 cracker in the U.S. now with Goldfish, and we are right on the heels of No. 1. Depending on the period, I think we have been in the No. 1 spot a couple of times now.”

Mr. Owens said the company’s innovation strategy in both its Pepperidge Farm and Arnott’s brands has revolved around expanding and trying to source volume from outside the traditional baked snack consumer.

“The introduction of cracker chips moved us toward trying to take some of the usage occasions from salty snacks,” he said. “And the introduction of things like Vita-Weat Lunch Slices in Australia moves in to try to make it a substitute, a lighter substitute, a lower-calorie substitute for bread at the lunchtime occasion.”

Arnott’s launched Vita-Weat Lunch Slices in Australia in 2011. The oversize “cracker” contains more than 72% whole grains, and each serving provides more than 50% of an adult’s daily whole grain needs, Campbell said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Owens said Campbell’s ability to leverage the Goldfish equity into other product categories beyond crackers also has been “a tremendous win.”

“We’ve done that not only with bread, but even a little farther back and more successfully as we’ve taken it into the cookie market with some sweet varieties of Goldfish,” he said.