Campbell Soup Company said it plans to retain all of the nearly 500 Garden Fresh Gourmet employees who work in Ferndale and expand production in the city after purchasing the homegrown company for $231 million June 9. Garden Fresh Gourmet started out as a passion for Jack and Annette Aronson on a card table in their Ferndale restaurant in 1997. Jack was a lover of hot sauce, and after experiencing fresh salsa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he recognized it was a niche that needed filling in Michigan.