Kraft Heinz moving for innovation rather than renovation
Executives at Kraft Heinz Co. believe that innovation is their main source of growth in North America, and they plan to add $2 billion to sales by 2027. The organisation will concentrate on three themes in order to attain that growth: quick with quality, exploration and authenticity, and holistic wellbeing.
The chairman and CEO, Miguel Patricio, stated during a presentation on February 21 at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference, which is being held in Boca Raton from February 21 to 24. “US retail is the core of our business.” “We have to succeed in growth platforms within US retail, as they account for approximately 35% of our total revenue.”
The company is at a “inflection point,” according to North America President Carlos A. Abrams-Rivera, following several years of revamping Kraft Heinz’s whole product line. The management’s current focus is on using innovation to address “pain points” for consumers.
“We prioritise the customer first and use a brand design to value approach,” he stated. We take off features from the product that are unnecessary for them and add features that are valued by them. We then establish a stronger connection with customers through improved quality, presentation, and marketing.
It is possible to think of each trend that Mr. Abrams-Rivera outlined as a platform that is home to innovative initiatives. For example, there will be an emphasis on flavour and customisation through customised sauces within the categories of authenticity and exploration.
“With the strength of our brands, we are building on the growing consumer trend of customisation in personalised sauces,” Mr. Abrams-Rivera stated.
The German company Just Spices, located in Dusseldorf, has been acquired by Kraft Heinz. Just Spices produces meal kits, spice mixes, salad dressings, and spices. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales accounted for almost 70% of the company’s sales before the acquisition. According to Mr. Abrams-Rivera, Kraft Heinz is now introducing the brand to the US market through the DTC channel and will subsequently grow the brand into retail.
A stronger focus on Mexican food will complete the framework for authenticity and exploration.
Mr. Abrams-Rivera declared, “We will offer options for consumers across sauces, snacks, and meals in our Mexican strategy.” We are working with suppliers, specifically for Delimex, to support innovation, ideation, and development. Commercialization, which had previously taken three years, is now only taking six months thanks to this method.
According to Mr. Abrams-Rivera, the product development effort resulted in reformulated Delimex taquitos with “improved quality” and double the filling.The quick with quality platform is supported by convenience. “Crisp from the Microwave” and “HomeBake,” a modular cooking method, are two current projects.
“First, what we refer to as crisp,” stated Mr. Abrams-Rivera. How many times have you put something in the microwave and then taken it out only to find it to be a heated mess? Thus, we have truly resolved that issue.
A grilled cheese sandwich was one of the products included in the Crisp from the Microwave programme, but Mr. Abrams-Rivera stated that the technology enabling the feature is scalable into several categories.
With HomeBake, users may prepare side dishes, main courses, and vegetable-based meals all at once.He said, “Consider all the food that you could cook in one oven for thirty minutes at the touch of a button.” Every single one of those dishes will turn out just as intended, both in terms of appearance and flavour.
Examples of HomeBake products that were displayed by Mr. Abrams-Rivera during his presentation were macaroni and cheese, cheesy broccoli, and pulled pork with barbecue sauce. Each product is packaged in a cooking tray with a sleeve that encourages cooking at 425° F for 30 minutes.
Two elements of the holistic health platform are growing the use of NotCo’s artificial intelligence platform to design plant-based foods and scaling Primal Kitchen, a company that was acquired in 2019.
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According to Mr. Abrams-Rivera, “We know consumers are looking for food to enhance their health and physical wellness.” Therefore, the focus of this recipe is on tasty but basic ingredients. Primal Kitchen comes first. It’s the greatest—better—for-you choice for a lot of common pantry items. Also, given Kraft Heinz’s size.
He mentioned NotCo and how its platform enables fast innovation and product performance. Two instances that were emphasised in Mr. Abrams-Rivera’s talk were Not Mayo and Not Cheese.
During the discussion, Mr. Abrams-Rivera mentioned that the HomeBake and Primal Kitchen products in development are prepared for mass production. The Crisp from the Microwave and NotCo projects are still being tested, and the firm is constantly learning about them.”92% of HomeBake customers who try the product repeat,” he stated. “All benchmarks set by the top frozen meal launches of the last ten years are being surpassed by trial and repeat.”