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With Kraft Heinz facing a millennials generation of consumers focusing increasingly on products billed as healthy and organic, the processed food manufacturer is not only looking to launch news products, but also to update its classic brands.
On the new products front, the company recently launched Springboard, a platform dedicated to nurturing, scaling, and accelerating growth of disruptive US brands within the food and beverage space.
According to the company, the Springboard platform is seeking opportunities to develop brands with authentic propositions and inspired founders within one of four pillars that are shaping the future of the food and beverage space: Natural & Organic, Specialty & Craft, Health & Performance and Experiential brands.
“We are committed to support and partner with teams that will impact the future of our industry,” said Sergio Eleuterio, General Manager, Springboard Brands. “We are actively searching for emergent, authentic brands that can expand into new categories, and are looking to build a network of founders to help shape the future of foods and beverages.”
As for Kraft Heinz classic brands, it is increasingly reformulating its products to meet millennials’ shopping priorities.
Kraft Heinz’s CEO Bernardo Hees cites CapriSun, which millennials grew up with, as a brand that they will come back to now that it has an organic line. It advertises that its CapriSun Organic uses organic juice from organic farms.
In 2016, the company’s Kraft Mac & Cheese, which generations of children have eaten the bright orange noodles, successfully removed the artificial food colors, including yellow 5 and yellow 6, and replaced them with paprika, annatto and turmeric. Consumers didn’t notice the difference in the product’s look and feel.
Even the iconic hot dog, that most processed of foods, got reworked, In 2017, the Oscar Mayer brand changed its hot dogs to contain no added nitrates or nitrites, no artificial preservatives in their meat, and no by-products in every single one of their hot dogs. Oscar Mayer trumpets that it was the first national brand to do this across every single one of its hot dogs.
Kraft Heinz’s first-quarter net income rose to $993 million, 81 cents a share, up from $893 million, 73 cents a share, from the same period in 2017.
© 2018 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.