Stockpot founder gets ‘back in the soup game’ with Finishing Touch

Fifteen years after he sold Stockpot Soups to Campbell Soup Company, Kirkland-based entrepreneur Kevin Fortun is, as he puts it, “back in the soup game.”

He is launching Fortun’s Finishing Touch Soups, a line of 12 ready-to-serve varieties that will be made in the Los Angeles area and sold nationwide to restaurant chains, food service companies and grocery stores, where they will be available in refrigerated containers and deli department hot kettles.

The new soup line follows Fortun’s Finishing Touch Sauces, a line of refrigerated sauces he launched two years ago.

When Fortun sold Stockpot in 1998, it was the leading producer of premium refrigerated soups. It was distributed in 23 countries and had reported annual sales of about $40 million with a three-year compound annual growth rate of 22 percent.

The sale price, Fortun said, was close to $150 million.

“I wasn’t planning to get back into the soup business, but I’m glad I did. We’re taking it up to a different level,” he said. “We look at these soups as crafted soups, made in small batches, one kettle at a time. They’re for people who want the best.”

Fortun expects to have $2 million in soup sales this year and at least $6 million next year. His goal is…

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