By Alexander Marrow
Oct 6 (Reuters) - Kraft Heinz is backing better-for-you trends such as protein and fiber as it invests heavily in marketing and tries to make up for lost time on innovation, the company's North America president told Reuters.
Under Steve Cahillane, who took over as CEO in January, the US packaged food company has abandoned plans to split the business in two and earmarked $700 million this year for marketing and R&D in an effort to reverse years of market share losses.
The company
launched its high-protein PowerMac & Cheese this year and is offering a wider range of better-for-you products across its portfolio that contain less sugar and salt and more protein and fiber.
Kraft Heinz is exploring new categories as well. On Tuesday, it introduced a cheesy ramen in the US, hoping to tap into US consumers' growing demand for different flavors and convenience.
"We're leaning more into really playing in different areas, disrupting some of the categories," Nico Amaya said in an interview, highlighting the $2.7 billion ramen market that is dominated by small players.
"Quite frankly, we haven't innovated at pace," he said. "We have some great brands that we haven't invested in in the past."
Marketing and R&D spend behind brands like PowerMac is up 35% this year and Amaya said that spending level was something Kraft Heinz would now sustain.
CEO Cahillane expects the innovation pipeline to accelerate in 2027 and despite overseeing an around 10% share price slide this year, Kraft Heinz has outperformed US packaged food peers including Conagra Brands, General Mills and PepsiCo.
Persistent inflation has pressured household budgets, prompting consumers to trade down to cheaper private-label alternatives, while the rapid adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is forcing packaged food makers to reformulate products to meet demand for healthier food.
Kraft Heinz has already launched its cheesy ramen product in Canada.
The company is also bringing out smaller portioned PowerMac cups, Amaya said, and has reformulated over 1,000 recipes to add protein and fiber, while offering less added sugar and fat.
"Better-for-you in many aspects is here to stay," Nico Amaya told Reuters. "And protein will become just part of what everyone does."
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Susan Fenton)
