TOKYO (AFP) - For those who find cracking open a can of Campbell's Soup to be too easy a meal option, a Japanese company is offering a back-to-basics version: the vegetable seeds themselves.
The seeds come in a tin that looks exactly the same as the red-and-white Campbell's can except the word "soup" is replaced by "seeds". Inside is a choice of seeds to grow miniature tomatoes, miniature pumpkins or green peas.
The idea of a more labor-intensive Campbell's came to mind from an interior design magazine that showed the can immortalized by Andy Warhol being used to grow herbs in the kitchen.
"We would like customers to enjoy growing plants and making the dishes they like with vegetables, not necessarily just to make soup," said Machiko Endo, spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based World Flower Service.
The company has sold 25,000 of the cans since they went on the market in Japan at the end of April, with the tomatoes the most popular of the three seeds.
The cans -- which cost 997 yen (9.25 dollars) at shops or 1,627 yen (15 dollars) by delivery -- come with layers of soil inside and written instructions. The plants take several months to grow and eventually need to be transferred into a larger container.
Endo said there were no plans yet to launch Campbell's Seed in the classic soup's home of the United States but that the Japanese firm has been in contact with the US maker.
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