An activist investor wants to replace Campbell Soup's entire board

The fight for Campbell Soup's future is heating up.

In a scathing letter addressed to the chairman of the company's board of directors, activist investor Daniel Loeb accused the board of directors of Campbell's problems, accusing members of "mismanagement, waste, poorly designed strategy and inadequate execution ".

Campbell is struggling with many of the problems facing its competitors in the food industry: prices have fallen Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), Costco (COST) and Kroger (KR) have accelerated their battle for customers; the tastes of consumers change; the prices of aluminum have increased its costs.

But Campbell exacerbated the situation with a series of bad bets. Acting Chief Executive Officer Keith McLoughlin recently said the company had been campaigning aggressively for health regardless of what made Campbell stand out from his many rivals. He said Campbell was too dependent on mergers and acquisitions and lost focus on his own products and brands.

The company's shares fell by nearly 17% this year.

Last month Campbell presented a solution to the problems. He sells Campbell Fresh, which includes Bolthouse Farms juices and Campbell's own chilled soups, as well as his international activities. After years of excessive development, he will focus instead on strengthening his most popular brands.

The decisions were made as a result of a comprehensive business assessment undertaken in May by the company, as a result of poor sales and a seemingly precarious integration of the Snyder & # 39; s-Lance fast food company, which Campbell completed in March.

Loeb thinks Campbell's plan is very short.

"The disappointing outcome of Campbell's recent" strategic review "process provides further evidence that this council is unable or unwilling to take the bold steps needed to deal with the current crisis," he wrote in the letter., which was sent Friday.

"At this point, it would be just imprudent to leave the Council that caused this mess to repair it."

Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point LLC, holds 5.7% of the company. The fund had previously stated that "the only justifiable result of the strategic review is [Campbell] to sell to a strategic buyer. "

To reorganize the board, Loeb suggested a combination of former leaders, Third Point employees and others.

Bozoma Saint John, who stepped down as Brand Manager at Uber in June, is on the list. She is now the Marketing Director of Endeavor Marketing.

George Strawbridge, a descendant of Campbell's founder, is also a candidate. He was a member of the board of directors of the company from 1988 to 2009 and holds a 2.8% interest in the company.

Campbell confirmed that he received the letter and said he would review the candidates. McLoughlin added that the company is still pursuing its plan and remains open to considering other options in the future.

Loeb says in the letter that, for the moment, the board is "beholden" to the founder's family members.

Mary Malone, Bennett Dorrance and Archbold D. van Beuren are all descendants and together control 42% of the company.

Patricia Lenkov, president of Agility Executive Search, which helps companies recruit board members, noted that asking for full board replacement is "unusual."

"Usually activists do not do it," she said. Family relationships will make this battle particularly difficult, she added.

"I think in these situations, a compromise is more likely than the all-or-nothing scenario," she said.

Lenkov noted that some board members may be willing to retire, and that some of Loeb's candidates may be easier to sell than others.

CNNMoney (New York) First published on September 7, 2018: 11:55