Business of Food & Beverage

CAGNY: Kraft Heinz Has ‘Turned the Corner,’ Set to Deliver Returns

Feb. 21, 2024

New CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera addressed the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference Feb. 21.

Kraft Heinz Co. has “turned the corner in [its] transformation journey,” its executives claim, and the company is now positioned to deliver consistent top-tier returns.

That was the message Carlos Abrams-Rivera, new CEO, delivered at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference Feb. 21. The dual-headquarters company, which was created by the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Co., spent 2020 resetting its foundation, 2021-2022 deploying a new operating model and 2023 “accelerating profitable growth.”

Net sales have been stuck at $26 billion ever since the merger, but have inched up the past three years, hitting $26.64 billion last year. Net income increased even more, up 20% in 2023 to $2.846 billion.

Abrams-Rivera cited a number of internal measures that indicate the company is on solid footing, pointed to the growth of the Heinz brand into new categories and expressed optimism that Mexican cuisine, under the Taco Bell, Las Chicas and Delimex brands, would be growth vehicles this year. He also sees potential in emerging markets, which account for only 10% of sales currently.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.