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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | July 2, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-07-02) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, andPittsburgh, Pennsylvania ,United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$25.8 billion (2024) |
| US$1.68 billion (2024) | |
| US$2.74 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$88.3 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$49.2 billion (2024) |
| Owners |
|
Number of employees | c. 36,000 (2024) |
| Divisions | |
| Website | kraftheinzcompany |
| Footnotes / references [3] | |
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known asKraft Heinz (/ˈkræftˈhaɪnz/), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger ofKraft Foods Group, Inc. andthe H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered inChicago andPittsburgh.[4][5]
Kraft Heinz is the third-largestfood and beverage company in North America and the fifth-largest in the world with over $26.0 billion in annual sales as of 2021.[6][7] In addition to Kraft and Heinz, over 20 other brands are part of the company's profile, includingBoca Burger,Gevalia,Grey Poupon,Oscar Mayer,Philadelphia Cream Cheese,Primal Kitchen, andWattie's, eight of which have total individual sales of over $1 billion.[8] Kraft Heinz ranked 114th in the 2018Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations based on 2017 total revenue.[9]
On September 2, 2025, Kraft Heinz announced that it would be splitting into two companies – tentatively named Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co. – ten years after the merger was completed. The split, with one company focused on condiments and the other on grocery staples, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.[10][11] In December 2025, the company named Steve Cahillane as its new CEO ahead of the split, and then afterwards being the CEO of Global Taste Elevation Co..[12] He will succeed former CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera who will serve as advisor until March 6, 2026.[13] On February 11, 2026, Kraft Heinz announced that the planned split was halted.
The boards of both companies agreed to the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz, with approval by shareholders and regulatory authorities in early 2015.[14][15] The new Kraft Heinz Company became the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company[16] and the third-largest in the United States.[14][17] The Kraft Heinz co-headquarters are in Chicago at theAon Center and in Pittsburgh atPPG Place, with other offices across the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.[18] The merger was completed on July 2, 2015.[19]
The merger in 2015 did not immediately affect thenaming rights toHeinz Field in Pittsburgh, home of thePittsburgh Steelers.[20] In July 2022 reports leaked that the company did not renew the rights, which Heinz initially acquired in 2001.[21]
On February 17, 2017, it was reported that Kraft Heinz Co. had made a $143 billion approach to take over the British-Dutch multinationalUnilever, a significantly larger competitor with 126,000 more employees and £24bn larger revenue than Kraft Heinz.[22] Unilever declined the initial proposal.[23] The takeover was subsequently abandoned on February 19 soon after UK Prime MinisterTheresa May had ordered regulators to examine the potential deal.[22]
On October 19, 2017, Kraft Heinz announced that it was acquiringCerebos Pacific, including theSaxa salt,Gregg's, andBisto brands, fromSuntory.[24] On March 9, 2018, New Zealand's Commerce Commission approved the purchase, on the condition that they sell the licenses for Gregg's brand of sauces and the F. Whitlock Worcestershire sauce brand due to competition concerns.[25]
In May 2018, Kraft Heinz launched Springboard Brands, a business focused on growing organic, natural, and "super-premium" food brands.[26][27] Later that year, it was announced Kraft Heinz would acquire thePrimal Kitchen brand as part of the company's Springboard Incubator.[28] The $200 million deal was completed in early 2019 and was expected to generate $50 million in new annual revenue.
On October 24, 2018, Kraft Heinz announced that it was selling its Indian nutritional beverage assets, includingComplan and energy drink Glucon-D toZydus Wellness.[29] The sale was completed on January 30, 2019.[30]
In April 2019, it was announcedMiguel Patricio, former Chief Marketing Officer ofInBev would replace Bernardo Hees as CEO of Kraft Heinz.[31] Patricio took position of CEO in late June 2019 andAlex Behring remained chairman of the company.[32] Later that year,Paulo Basilio returned to his role at Chief Financial Officer and Corrado Azzarita assumed the position of Chief Information Officer.[33][34] Todd Kaplan has been named chief marketing officer of North America at Kraft Heinz.[35]
In June 2019, Kraft Heinz reached a milestone in achieving a 100 percentCorporate Equality Index score from theHuman Rights Campaign.[36] The score recognized the company for itsLGBTQ inclusion efforts and becoming a leader in the area amongfood CPG companies. On July 2, 2019, Kraft Heinz sold its Canadian natural cheese business, including the Cracker Barrel, P'tit Quebec, and aMOOza! brands toParmalat for C$1.62 billion.[37]
In September 2020, Kraft Heinz reached a deal to sellpart of its cheese business to French multinationaldairy product corporationLactalis for $3.2 billion.[38][39] The sale included the Breakstone's, Knudsen,Polly-O, Athenos,Hoffman's, andCracker Barrel cheese brands for the United States, andCheez Whiz outside of North America.[40] Kraft Heinz then partnered with Lactalis to manufacture Kraft and Velveeta cheeses. On November 10, 2021, theU.S. Justice Department approved the acquisition on the condition that they divest the Athenos and Polly-O businesses.[41] The sale was completed on November 29.[42] The divestiture of Athenos toEmmi Roth was completed on December 1,[43] while the divestiture of Polly-O toBelGioioso Cheese was completed on December 3.[44]
On September 15, 2020, Kraft Heinz announced its new Strategic Transformation Plan, including a new company purpose, "Let's Make Life Delicious" and an all-new vision, "To sustainably grow by delighting more consumers globally."[45] The next day Kraft Heinz also released its updated 2020 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) report with goals to make 100% of Kraft Heinz product packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025 and plans to sustainably source 100 percent ofHeinz Ketchup tomatoes by 2025.[46][47]
On February 11, 2021, Kraft Heinz announced its Q4 2020 and full-year results, resulting in 6.2 percent increased sales and over $26 billion in revenue.[48] The same day, Kraft Heinz announced their plans to sell its nuts business, including thePlanters brand toHormel for $3.35 billion.[49] The transaction was completed on June 7.[50]
On March 9, 2021, Kraft Heinz announced an agreement withThe Hershey Company to sell refrigerated Colliders desserts under Hershey's respective brands.[51]
In September 2021, Kraft Heinz announced that Hemmer, a Brazilian company focused on condiments and sauces, was being acquired for an undisclosed amount.[52] This acquisition followed the recent agreement to purchase Assan Foods – a Turkish company focused on sauces – belonging to Kibar Holding, for approximately $100 million.[53]
On January 19, 2022, Kraft Heinz announced that it had completed its acquisition of an 85% stake in Germany-basedJust Spices GmbH. Launched in 2014, Just Spices is a start-up with approximately €60 million annual sales. Its 170-plus product portfolio includes spice blends, salad dressings, easy-to-prepare "In Minutes" blends, and organic offerings for diverse meal occasions ranging from breakfast and light snacks to salads and baking, with a broad range of savory, sweet, classic, and exotic flavors. The proposed deal was first announced on December 10, 2021.[54]
On May 18, 2023, Kraft Heinz announced a new partnership withIHOP to sell IHOP-branded coffee at grocery stores nationwide.[55] That partnership was expanded on July 23, 2024, to include the sale of pancake syrups.[56]
In June 2025, Kraft Heinz announced it would eliminate artificial food, drug, and cosmetic colors from all U.S. products by the end of 2027, following increased pressure from health officials including HHS SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr. The company, which had already removed such dyes from many products, committed to using only natural colors in new items effective immediately.[57]
In July 2025, it was reported that Kraft Heinz was planning a breakup of the company into two smaller companies. One company will be global in nature and focus on sauces, spreads and seasonings; the other will focus on grocery staples in North America. At the time of the breakup, the CEO noted Kraft Heinz had nearly 200 brands across 55 categories and 150 countries, "making it difficult to fully invest in each of them".[58]Warren Buffet, who helped orchestrate the original merger in 2015 along with3G Capital, and whose firmBerkshire Hathaway still owns 27.5% of the company, was reportedly "disappointed" with the announcement of the split and the prospect of shareholders being unable to vote on the split.[59] Kraft Heinz projected only $300 million in dis-synergies.[60]
As of 2023, a partial list of global brands included in the Kraft Heinz portfolio:[61]
Kraft and Heinz:
Other:
For the fiscal year 2017, Kraft Heinz reported earnings ofUS$11.0 billion, with annual revenue ofUS$26.2 billion, a decline of 0.6% over the previous fiscal cycle. Kraft Heinz's shares traded at over $61 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at overUS$136 billion in September 2018.[63]
In February 2019, shares in Kraft Heinz fell to a record low of under $35 after the company reported a $10.2bn loss for the previous year as the company announced that it would take a $15.4 billion writedown of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands, cut its dividend, and acknowledged that theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had opened a probe into its accounting practices.[64] In August 2019, Kraft Heinz announced a further $1.22 billion in writedowns,[65] as well as the return of its former CFO, Paulo Basilio, who held the position until 2017, to replace David Knopf, saying that it wanted a "seasoned veteran" following a series of accounting errors.[66]
On February 21, 2019, Kraft Heinz reported that they received aSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)subpoena in October that aimed to look into the company's accounting policies and internal controls.[67] Kraft Heinz also announced that they cut theirdividend from 62.5 cents a share to 40 cents.[67] The company also announced agoodwillimpairment charge that wrote down the value of the company'sKraft andOscar Mayer brands of $15.4 billion in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a net loss of $12.61 billion.[68] The all-resulting news made the company's stock crash more than 20% in after-hours trading.[68] The stock plunge resulted inBerkshire Hathaway, the largest stockowner, recording awrite down of $3 billion and a stock value loss of $4.3 billion just a day before Berkshire Hathaway's quarterly earnings and annual report to investors.[69][70]
In September 2020, Kraft Heinz announced its new enterprise strategy, including plans to cut $2 billion in costs over five years, resulting in an estimated generation of 4% to 6% adjusted earnings per share growth.[71] The announcement resulted in multiple stock upgrades by CFRA and Guggenheim due to the renewed positive financial outlook of the company.[72]
In September 2021, Kraft Heinz was fined $62m to settle theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe into an improper claim of $200m incost savings.[73][74] The $200 million in "bogus cost savings" (reportedly from merger) forced the company to restate its financial results for the years 2015 through 2018.[75]
| Year | Revenue in million US$ | 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[76] | 26,040 | 1,020 | ||
| 2022[77] | 26,485 | 2,368 | ||
| 2023[78] | 26,640 | 2,855 | 36,000 | |
| 2024[78] | 25,846 | 2,744 | 36,000 |
In 2017, Kraft Heinz committed to making a number of improvements to the welfare of broiler chickens in their supply chains by 2024. These included commitments to source chickens from high welfare breeds, provide birds with more space, and implement third-party monitoring.[79]
In 2019, Kraft Heinz made an updated pledge to comply with theEuropean Chicken Commitment, an animal welfare standard, for 100% of the chickens in its supply chain, by 2026.[80]
In 2021, the BBFAW, an animal welfare monitoring organization, gave Kraft Heinz a rating that indicated it had established animal welfare practices but still has room to grow. At that time, according to Kraft Heinz, 70% of the chickens in the company's supply chain were cage-free or free-range.[81]
In 2017, the claim that the Kraft Parmesan Cheese label was misleading was rejected by judges. The label reads "Kraft 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese". It was argued that a "reasonable consumer" would know the product could not be 100% cheese, as any dairy product degrades quickly without preservatives.[62]
On December 1, 2023, a federal jury in Illinois awarded $17.8 million to several large food companies, including Kraft Heinz, in a lawsuit againstCal-Maine Foods, Inc. and others over allegations of egg price fixing. Cal-Maine Foods, contesting the verdict, insists on its innocence and the absence of wrongdoing in its business practices.[82]
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