Kraft Heinz Plots a More Competitive Course

When Carlos Abrams-Rivera, was appointed CEO of The Kraft Heinz Co. in February 2020, he had no idea how deeply a forthcoming global pandemic and shifting consumer attitudes would impact the trajectory of his business. During a presentation at the recent Consumer Goods Forum’s 2024 Global Summit, Abrams-Rivera discussed the unexpected burning of his playbook for the company’s transformation and how it ultimately helped foster a fundamental consumer-focused shift in company culture, sparking a passion for food from the ground up that has helped put Kraft Heinz on a more stable path for the future.  

“The company was not in a good place competitively,” he admits, adding that the challenge of finding a fresh route forward inspired him to look outside of the CPG food realm to the pharma, banking, and airline industries to learn how they’re using technology to drive innovation. The experience helped inspire the creation of a multi-part “ideal paths” methodology for Kraft Heinz to harness innovation and heighten its efficiencies across the three pillars of its business: home, foodservice, and emerging markets.

In his nearly 30-year career, Abrams-Rivera has witnessed the potential of emerging markets. “I know there’s an opportunity there that frankly we haven’t captured much but we are committed to growing that space,” he says, adding that while the pillar represents about 10% of Kraft Heinz’s current business, he believes the company can triple that over the next 10 years.

Related:Kraft Heinz’s Grilled-Cheese Packaging Streamlines Prep

“Every CPG company has to be fueled by innovation because frankly, the consumer is changing all the time,” he says. “We are focused on two things—first, the innovation that consumers see and the innovation that consumers do not see.”

Products & packaging are evolving.

On the visible innovation front, the company is reformulating products like Jell-O to have less sugar and Ore-Ida potato products to have less sodium and improved crispiness. At the same time, they’re also expanding partnerships with entities like the Girl Scouts and Taco Bell and developing new flavor profiles to appeal to a broader consumer audience.

Specific to packaging-related visibility, Abrams-Rivera noted the company’s 360Crisp platform, which was developed to give a stovetop-like crispiness to its Lunchables Grilled Cheesies but in an easier-to-prepare, microwavable format.

“You have the melted cheese; you have the crunchiness,” he says. “Now we are using that same technology to apply to a number of our products for us to use the intellectual property that we have across the entire scale of our products.”

The consumer demand for health and wellness is also spurring the company to be more agile in developing a product portfolio with evolving food opportunities (like gluten-free) that are accessible, affordable, and enjoyable.

On the invisible innovation front, the company is leaning into its recent partnership with TheNotCompany, Inc. (NotCo), using its Artificial intelligence (AI) platform to help formulate plant-based products across its spectrum of brands including Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Mayer, and Kraft Singles. It’s a move that will undoubtedly usher in new nutrition labels.

“We want to bring innovation that is truly disruptive to the market,” he says. “In the last eight-to-nine months, we’ve been creating a new dream for the company: elevating and making food that makes you feel good–it feels good for your soul, feels good for the planet, feels good in terms of quality, and feels good in terms of value.”

Baked beans are a good example of this—not only has the company improved the quality and nutritional value of its venerable baked beans, it has also improved the packaging. “The plastic packaging wasn’t in code in England, it would’ve been thrown away, so now we’ve created new packaging [with recycled content] for our baked beans.”

Kraft Heinz is also using AI to improve logistics, reduce inventories, and improve efficiencies, beginning in North America and rolling out globally.

The company culture is shifting.

Another component helping to shape Kraft Heinz’s tangible improvements is the ongoing effort to foster a proud, ownership mindset among employees behind the scenes.

“First of all, the team is smarter than me…and everybody at my table has worked very hard to get to that table,” Abrams-Rivera says, emphasizing that the backbone of his philosophy is trust at the human level. “I also expect people to be open and vulnerable…which only comes [by trusting each other] on a human level.

“The people I admire display the key characteristics of vision, courage, and empathy,” he continues. “It can be truly transformational: they can display those things, but they also teach others those things.”

Modeling those qualities is something he considers to be an important part of his job. “I’m focused on coaching and developing people [because when] they feel the support, they can be their better self,” he says.

Abrams-Rivera believes encouraging a positive company culture must be more than fodder on inspirational posters. It too is rooted in a pillared approach that helps each employee achieve not only their personal goals but also the goals of the company.

Kraft Heinz’s three cultural pillars are first, working like an owner and encouraging employees to treat the company like it’s theirs. Second, emphasizing ambition and striving to go high but knowing you won’t get there by yourself. And third, the importance of meritocracy—it’s not about who you know, it’s about what you achieve.

“I’m not ready to declare victory; we’ve got more to do,” he says. “The dream gives you a destination, but you also have to be thoughtful that every yellow brick road is built a brick at a time.”