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Kraft Heinz

From Alfawiki
The Kraft Heinz Company
Company typePublic
IndustryFood processing
PredecessorKraft Foods Group, Inc., H.J. Heinz Company
FoundedJuly 2, 2015; 11 years ago (2015-07-02)
Headquarters
Chicago and Pittsburgh
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Miguel Patricio (CEO), Alex Behring (Chairman), Paulo Basilio (CFO), Corrado Azzarita (CIO), Todd Kaplan (CMO North America)
ProductsFood and beverage products including Kraft Dinner, Heinz Ketchup, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Primal Kitchen, Wattie's, and others
Revenue$26.64 billion (2023)
Number of employees
36,000 (2024)
Websitewww.kraftheinzcompany.com

The Kraft Heinz Company (abbreviated as KHC), widely recognized as Kraft Heinz, is a U.S.-based multinational corporation in the food sector, established through the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company maintains dual headquarters located in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Although the merged entity operates on a large scale, its valuation was $12 billion below the initial 2015 merger price. As of 2021, Kraft Heinz stood as the third-largest food and beverage corporation in North America and ranked fifth worldwide, boasting annual revenues exceeding $26 billion. Its affiliate, Mondelez International, separated from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012, retaining control over snack brands, while Kraft Heinz manages grocery and food processing lines.

The company’s brand portfolio encompasses over 20 labels, including Boca Burger, Gevalia, Grey Poupon, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Primal Kitchen, and Wattie's. Notably, eight of these brands individually generate sales surpassing $1 billion. In 2018, Kraft Heinz was positioned 114th on the Fortune 500 list based on its 2017 earnings.

On September 2, 2025, Kraft Heinz revealed intentions to divide into two separate entities—provisionally named Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co.—marking a strategic split a decade after their initial merger. This reorganization will isolate condiment-related operations from the grocery staples segment and is anticipated to finalize during the latter half of 2026.

History

In early 2015, board members of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz approved a merger agreement that was completed on July 2, 2015. This consolidation resulted in the creation of the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage company and the third-largest within the United States. The firm operates dual headquarters situated in Chicago’s Aon Center and Pittsburgh’s PPG Place, alongside offices across various global locations.

The merger initially left naming rights for Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field unchanged; however, by July 2022, Kraft Heinz reportedly chose not to renew these rights.

In February 2017, Kraft Heinz proposed a $143 billion acquisition offer for Unilever, a larger multinational with substantially greater revenue and employee numbers. Unilever declined the proposal, which was subsequently withdrawn following regulatory challenges.

On October 19, 2017, Kraft Heinz acquired Cerebos Pacific from Suntory, obtaining brands such as Saxa salt and Bisto. The New Zealand Commerce Commission granted approval in March 2018 under conditions requiring divestiture of certain sauce licenses.

In May 2018, Kraft Heinz introduced Springboard Brands to accelerate growth in organic and premium food categories. Later that year, it purchased Primal Kitchen for $200 million, anticipating an additional $50 million in yearly revenue.

By October 2018, Kraft Heinz divested its Indian nutritional beverage portfolio—including Complan and Glucon-D—to Zydus Wellness for approximately $630 million; this transaction concluded in January 2019.

Miguel Patricio was appointed CEO in April 2019, succeeding Bernardo Hees; Alex Behring retained his role as chairman. Later that year saw Paulo Basilio return as CFO and Corrado Azzarita assume CIO responsibilities. In 2024, Todd Kaplan was named Chief Marketing Officer for North America.

In June 2019, Kraft Heinz earned a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index for its initiatives supporting LGBTQ inclusion. On July 2 of that year, it sold its Canadian natural cheese division to Parmalat for C$1.62 billion.

September 2020 marked an agreement to sell part of its cheese business to Lactalis for $3.2 billion; this included prominent U.S. brands such as Breakstone's and Cracker Barrel. After regulatory clearance, the deal closed in November 2021 with required divestitures finalized by early December.

On September 15, 2020, Kraft Heinz launched its Strategic Transformation Plan featuring a refreshed purpose: "Let's Make Life Delicious," alongside a vision emphasizing sustainable global expansion. The company also pledged that all packaging would be recyclable or compostable by 2025 and committed to sourcing all ketchup tomatoes sustainably by that year.

Financial results released in February 2021 indicated a sales increase of 6.2%, surpassing $26 billion in revenue. Additionally, Kraft Heinz announced it would sell its nuts business—including Planters—to Hormel for $3.35 billion; this transaction closed in June.

In March 2021, Kraft Heinz partnered with The Hershey Company to develop refrigerated spoonable desserts under Hershey-branded products.

During September 2021, the company acquired Brazilian condiment maker Hemmer and Turkish sauces producer Assan Foods for an aggregate amount near $100 million.

January 2022 saw completion of acquiring an 85% stake in Just Spices GmbH based in Germany—a direct-to-consumer spice brand with annual sales around €60 million and a product range exceeding 170 items.

In May 2023, Kraft Heinz collaborated with IHOP to launch IHOP-branded coffee nationwide; this partnership expanded in July 2024 to include pancake syrups under the IHOP brand.

By June 2025, responding to health authority pressure, Kraft Heinz committed to removing artificial colors from all products sold in the U.S. by the end of 2027 while immediately adopting natural colorants for new product introductions.

In July 2025, plans were announced to split Kraft Heinz into two companies: one focusing globally on sauces and seasonings; the other dedicated to North American grocery staples. The CEO cited difficulties managing nearly 200 brands across diverse markets as a key reason for this move. Berkshire Hathaway—holding a 27.5% stake—expressed dissatisfaction with the division plan and constraints on shareholder voting rights. The separation was projected to incur dis-synergies estimated at $300 million.

Brands

By 2023, Kraft Heinz's worldwide collection of brands features prominent labels including:

Kraft and Heinz:

Additional significant brands include:



Finance

During fiscal year 2017, Kraft Heinz reported revenues of $26.2 billion alongside earnings of $11.0 billion, marking a slight 0.6% decrease compared to the previous year. By September 2018, its shares were valued above $61, with market capitalization surpassing $136 billion.

Nonetheless, in February 2019, the stock price dropped below $35 after recording a $10.2 billion loss, largely due to a $15.4 billion impairment on the Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands, dividend reductions, and the revelation of an SEC investigation into accounting procedures. Further impairments amounting to $1.22 billion were disclosed in August 2019, coinciding with the return of former CFO Paulo Basilio tasked with strengthening financial controls following accounting discrepancies.

The SEC issued a subpoena in October 2018 to examine accounting methods and internal controls, which led to a dividend cut from 62.5 cents to 40 cents per share and a net loss of $12.61 billion in the fourth quarter owing to goodwill impairments. This announcement triggered a stock decline exceeding 20% and substantial write-downs for major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway.

In September 2020, Kraft Heinz introduced a strategic business plan aiming to achieve $2 billion in cost reductions over five years while targeting adjusted EPS growth between 4% and 6%. This initiative resulted in several analyst upgrades reflecting enhanced financial prospects.

By September 2021, Kraft Heinz consented to pay a $62 million fine to settle SEC allegations regarding false claims of $200 million in merger-related cost savings, which necessitated restating financial results from 2015 through 2018.

Year Revenue
in million US$ 		Net income
in million US$ 		Price per Share
in US$ 		Employees
2010 17,797 3,534
2011 18,576 1,775
2012 18,271 1,637
2013 11,529 1,013
2014 10,922 −63
2015 18,338 −266 77.01 42,000
2016 26,487 3,452 81.91 41,000
2017 26,232 10,999 61.75 39,000
2018 26,300 −10,200
2019 24,977 1,935
2020 26,185 1,032 34.66 38,757
2021[1] 26,040 1,020
2022[2] 26,485 2,368
2023[3] 26,640 2,855 36,000
2024[3] 25,846 2,744 36,000


Animal welfare

In 2017, Kraft Heinz made a commitment to enhance the welfare of broiler chickens within its supply chain by 2024. This initiative includes sourcing breeds with higher welfare standards, increasing living space for the birds, and introducing third-party oversight.

The company further committed in 2019 to fully comply with the European Chicken Commitment guidelines for all its chickens by 2026.

As of 2021, the BBFAW assessed Kraft Heinz as having animal welfare policies in place but identified opportunities for further advancement. At that time, 70% of the chickens used in its supply chain were either cage-free or raised free-range.

Controversies

In 2017, a legal challenge claiming that Kraft Parmesan Cheese’s "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese" label was deceptive was dismissed by the courts. The ruling concluded that typical consumers would correctly interpret the product’s characteristics.

On December 1, 2023, a federal jury in Illinois awarded $17.8 million to several prominent food companies, including Kraft Heinz, in a price-fixing lawsuit involving Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. and others concerning egg pricing. Cal-Maine Foods has denied any misconduct and is appealing the decision.

See also


Further reading

External links

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