Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J., has entered into an agreement to acquire Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., from a fund managed by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for $1.55 billion in cash.

Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J., outlined its progress on current growth strategies and its plans to return to growth in fiscal 2013 at a meeting with investors this morning.

“Fresh” can be a relative term to people as they describe what it means to them. 

Bolthouse Farms, a subsidiary of Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup Co., unveiled its new Innovation Center at its Bakersfield, Calif., headquarters. The facility is designed to accelerate new product development and enhance current Bolthouse Farms offerings across the company’s portfolio of beverages, salad dressings and fresh carrots, the company says. The Innovation Center will integrate marketing and research to create new products intended to help consumers make healthy choices, it says.

Camden, N.J.-based The Campbell Soup Co. reported a sales increase of 10 percent, with an organic sales increase of 1 percent, reaching $2.3 billion in the second quarter of the 2013 fiscal year. In addition, the company reported a 5 percent increase in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) including its acquisition of Bolthouse Farms.