Category: Kraft Heinz

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The Kraft Heinz Company (which is 26.6%-owned by Berkshire Hathaway) will combine its U.S. and Canada businesses to create the North America Zone, which is expected to be effective in the second fiscal quarter of 2022.

The move is meant to advance the global food and beverage leader’s long-term, sustainable growth plans—which were first outlined at its Investor Day event in September 2020—by bringing increased agility to its innovation agenda, operations, and go-to-market approach.

The Company’s U.S. and Canada businesses accounted for approximately 80% of its 2020 consolidated net sales.

In the last 12 months, Kraft Heinz has taken multiple steps to transform its overall growth profile, strategic focus, and financial flexibility, including divesting certain assets in its global cheese and nuts businesses. The Company has also centered its business around a consumer-first approach, significantly investing in its portfolio, digital solutions, customer relationships, and people.

The Company believes the creation of the North America Zone will further fuel Kraft Heinz’s vision to leverage its scale through improved agility for competitive advantage. Structural changes to support the strategic plan are aimed at streamlining and synergizing the U.S. and Canada businesses. This evolved model is expected to help the North America Zone pilot high-value products, processes, and service innovations, backed by the resources of the two countries, while also increasing speed to market.

“As consumer, customer, and employee needs change, we must be in a position to anticipate, adjust, and respond with speed,” said Miguel Patricio, Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Heinz. “Combining our U.S. and Canada businesses—two dynamic Zones—gives us a distinct advantage and will produce faster, more effective results so we can continue investing in our strategic plan and driving sustainable growth. While this is an evolution to our structure, it is part of a broader revolution in how we will work at Kraft Heinz going forward.”

As a result, the following leadership changes are being made:

• Kraft Heinz’s new North America Zone will be led by Carlos Abrams-Rivera, currently U.S. Zone President. Since joining Kraft Heinz in February 2020, Abrams-Rivera has been instrumental in reigniting growth in the U.S. business, the Company’s largest Zone. Abrams-Rivera will assume the title of North America Zone President.

The North America Zone structure will include three commercial business units that will be organized around the Company’s consumer-driven product platforms and geographic needs, including:

• Taste, Meals, and Away From Home will be led by Pedro Navio, currently President of Latin America, and includes the Taste Elevation and Easy Meals Made Better consumer platforms as well as the U.S. foodservice and ingredient businesses

• Fresh, Beverages, and Desserts will be led by Steve Cornell, currently President – Enhancers, Specialty, and Away From Home, and includes the Fast Fresh Meals, Easy Indulgent Desserts, Real Food Snacking, and Flavorful Hydration consumer platforms

• Canada and North America Coffee will be led by Adam Butler, currently President – Kids, Snacks, and Beverages

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Scott as President of Research & Development – North America.

Scott joins Kraft Heinz from Abbott Nutrition where he most recently served as Divisional Vice President of Global Product Development. In this role, he successfully delivered a wide range of product solutions that met the diverse needs of consumers and retailers, as well as led the development of products to support Abbott Nutrition’s medical, institutional, and clinical businesses globally. Prior to Abbott Nutrition, Scott was Vice President of Research & Development- Latin America for The Coca- Cola Company where he delivered consumer-centric product innovations, as well as packaging solutions to support environmental and sustainability goals.

In his new role at Kraft Heinz, Scott will be tasked with leading Research and Development for the Company’s core business, renovation and innovation agendas, and commercialization strategy. His proven success in building Research & Development teams around agile ways of working coupled with his deep understanding of next generation ingredients, packaging innovations, and nutrition makes him uniquely positioned to advance Kraft Heinz’s North America portfolio strategy which is centered around creating more sustainable solutions.

Long-time Company executive Bruno Keller, currently Canada Zone President, will assume the position of President of Latin America, part of the Company’s International Zone.

Navio, Cornell, Butler, and Scott will report directly to Abrams-Rivera under the new structure.

The North America Zone will begin structural transitions in early 2022 with full organizational and financial reporting changes expected to take effect at the start of its second fiscal quarter next year.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The Kraft Heinz Company is selling its Natural, Grated, Cultured and Specialty cheese businesses to a U.S. affiliate of Groupe Lactalis for a purchase price of $3.2 billion USD.

The proposed transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to regulatory review and approval.

The transaction includes Kraft Heinz’s Natural, Grated, Cultured and Specialty cheese businesses in the U.S., Grated cheese business in Canada, and the entire International Cheese business outside these two countries, including the following brands: Breakstone’s, Knudsen, Polly-O, Athenos, Hoffman’s, Cracker Barrel in the U.S. only, and outside the U.S. and Canada only, Cheez Whiz.

In addition, Kraft Heinz will partner with Groupe Lactalis on a perpetual license for Kraft in Natural, Grated and International cheeses and Velveeta in Shredded and International cheeses.

Kraft Heinz will retain the Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Singles, Velveeta Processed Cheese and Cheez Whiz Processed Cheese businesses in the U.S. and Canada, the Kraft, Velveeta and Cracker Barrel Mac & Cheese businesses worldwide, and the Kraft Sauces business worldwide.

“We believe these cheese and dairy businesses will thrive in the hands of a global dairy company like Groupe Lactalis,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio. “At the same time, the transaction will enable us to build sustainable competitive advantage in businesses where we have stronger brand equity, greater growth prospects and can use our manufacturing scale and consumer-based platforms approach. This is a great example of agile portfolio management at work.”

As outlined in the new Kraft Heinz operating model announced earlier today, platform roles will help guide resource allocation and investment decisions. Kraft Heinz will focus on growth areas and take strategic action where appropriate. This will help to accrete the Company’s growth profile, enhance strategic focus, and create shareholder value.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kraft Heinz will sell production facilities located in Tulare, Calif.; Walton, N.Y.; and Wausau, Wis., and a distribution center in Weyauwega, Wis. These facilities and their employees will continue to operate in ordinary course. Approximately 750 employees will be transferred from Kraft Heinz to Groupe Lactalis.

The cheese businesses being sold contributed approximately $1.8 billion USD to Kraft Heinz’s net sales for the twelve months ended June 27, 2020. The transaction valuation represents an approximate 12x multiple of LTM Adjusted EBITDA for the standalone business. Kraft Heinz expects to use post-tax transaction proceeds primarily to pay down debt.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or indiv

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

As The Kraft Heinz Company continues to rebuild its business momentum with a focus on driving business growth through consumer-first marketing, innovation and people development, CEO Miguel Patricio today announced that Carlos Abrams-Rivera will join his Senior Leadership Team as the new U.S. Zone President.

Effective Feb. 3, 2020, Abrams-Rivera will lead all U.S. business operations, the company’s largest business.

Since officially stepping into the CEO role in July 2019, Patricio also has served as interim President of the U.S. Zone, in addition to his global duties.

“The U.S. represents the majority of our company’s overall business, so this is an enormously important role. I have every confidence that Carlos is the visionary leader we need to drive the U.S. business forward at this moment of transformation,” said Patricio. “Carlos has successfully implemented a strategic approach to reinvigorating brands and has a strong track record of growing businesses with a consumer-first focus to consistently drive strong business results.”

“I am honored to step into the role of U.S. Zone President and look forward to working closely with Miguel and the strong, capable senior leaders he’s assembled at Kraft Heinz,” said Abrams-Rivera. “I’m also very excited to bring my consumer insights passion to drive growth for so many world-class brands, many of which are already very familiar to me.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Abrams-Rivera, 52, will join the company after a successful career spanning more than two decades at companies including Campbell Soup Company, Mondelēz International, and Kraft Foods.

Abrams-Rivera joined Campbell in 2015 and most recently served as Executive Vice President and President, Campbell Snacks, a new division that represents nearly 50 percent of Campbell’s annual sales.

Previously, Abrams-Rivera was President of Campbell’s Pepperidge Farm subsidiary, where he improved the results of this iconic business, driving consistent profitable growth.
His roles at Mondelēz International from 2012-2015 included President of Gum & Candy for Mondelēz Latin America; President, Mondelēz Mexico; Senior Vice President, Global Beverages; and Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy for Developing Markets.

Abrams-Rivera began his career at Kraft Foods and held numerous roles from 1998 to 2012, including Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy for Developing Markets; Vice President, Nabisco Savory Snacks; and Vice President, Global Biscuits Brands. He also led the development of iconic brands in Cheese, Enhancers, Frozen Pizza, and Oscar Mayer businesses.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The Kraft Heinz Company has announced that the Company’s Board of Directors has appointed Miguel Patricio as Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2019.

Mr. Patricio will succeed Bernardo Hees, who will remain CEO through June 30, 2019, to ensure a seamless transition.

“Miguel is a proven business leader with a distinguished track record of building iconic consumer brands around the globe, driving top-line revenue growth through a focus on consumer-first marketing, innovation, and people development,” said Alex Behring, Chairman of Kraft Heinz’s Board of Directors.

“I want to personally thank Bernardo Hees for leading the Company through its first phase,” said Marcel Herrmann Telles, a member of Kraft Heinz’s Board of Directors. “I’ve worked with Miguel over the course of the past 20 years, and he is a natural business leader. From attracting and nurturing the best talent to leading the turnaround of the AB InBev China business into the phenomenal success it is today, Miguel has one of the best brand-building minds in the industry.”

A native of Portugal, Mr. Patricio will join the Company after a successful career spanning two decades at Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), where he served as part of the Executive Leadership team in various positions, driving organic growth and industry-leading margins.

At AB InBev, Mr. Patricio served as the Global Chief Marketing Officer from 2012 to 2018. In this role, he helped develop and implement a strategic playbook for global brands Corona, Budweiser and Stella Artois, accelerating organic sales growth to high single digits. This represented more than one-third of AB InBev’s organic growth and accounted for more than 20 percent of AB InBev’s 2018 year-end global revenues. In his final year as chief marketer, AB InBev was the most awarded brand owner at Cannes Lions 2018, the global benchmark for effective creative marketing communications.

Prior to that, he was AB InBev’s President of Asia Pacific from 2008 to 2012 and President of North America from 2006 to 2008, providing him with deep experience in growing businesses in developed and emerging markets.

As President of Asia Pacific, Mr. Patricio set the foundation for the growth of the China business by defining a long-term strategy focusing on the premium market, growing Budweiser to become the leading brand in China, and expanding the growth of local brands such as Harbin. This led to the transformation of AB InBev Asia Pacific, which grew from revenues of $1 billion in 2008 to $2.7 billion in 2012, making it the number one beer company in China. Asia Pacific now represents approximately 15 percent of the company’s global revenue and 18 percent of global volumes.

Prior to AB InBev, Mr. Patricio has worked at other consumer companies including Philip Morris, The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson in Latin America, New Jersey, and Georgia.

“Kraft Heinz is an incredible company with iconic brands that are loved around the world,” Mr. Patricio said. “It will be a privilege and an honor to lead such a talented group of employees as we focus on the consumer to capitalize on the growth opportunities that exist in the rapidly evolving food industry.”

“I would like to thank Bernardo personally, and on behalf of the Board, for his many contributions to Kraft Heinz over the last six years,” Mr. Behring added. “He helped transform the food industry by leading the acquisition of Heinz in 2013 and the merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015. Under Bernardo’s tenure, Kraft Heinz achieved industry-leading margins and sales performance in line with its U.S. peers, developed an organization with best-in-industry quality standards, and built in-house capabilities for category management, including revenue and assortment management. We appreciate his contributions.”

“It has been an honor to serve as CEO of Kraft Heinz and to see it through its transformation over the last six years,” said Mr. Hees. “I have confidence that Miguel and the team will take Kraft Heinz to new heights.”

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past