A fixture in kitchens and pantries for decades, Kraft Heinz is “betting big” that it can replicate that success outside the home.
Until a few years ago, the food giant’s strategy for stadiums, hotels, hospitals, schools and restaurants was seen as “undefined opportunities.” Kraft Heinz “hadn’t worked out what our role” was, confessed Peter Hall, president of Away From Home and Kraft Heinz’s ingredients business in North America.
The packaged food giant decided to make its Away From Home business “an integral strategic building block” for growing Kraft Heinz rather than just one that generated sales.
Heinz Tap, a device that features seven dispensaries for condiments such as mayo, mustard, ketchup and ranch dressing.To support its ambitions, Kraft Heinz added more employees, boosted data analytics and doubled down on research and development.
Instead of just “selling more stuff,” Hall said Kraft Heinz recognized it could use foodservice to increase trial and brand awareness for some of its iconic offerings, such as Heinz Ketchup and Philadelphia Cream Cheese, while opening new channels for products that it did not sell in stores.
”We are betting big, and we will continue to bet big in this space,” he said. “We see the horizon of this business for the next 10 years, not just here in North America, but globally, as one that is about growth, that is about putting our brands in people’s hands every single day.”
So far, the strategy has worked.
Sales in Kraft Heinz’s Away From Home division jumped 14% during the last year, the company said, and it gained market share in North America and around the world. In the last six months, it has won “multiple millions” in new business. Kraft Heinz aims for 2% to 3% growth during the next decade.
The company’s success in foodservice is built partly on introducing new products into the marketplace earlier in the trend cycle. Last year, for example, it rolled out the first of its limited-time Sauce Drops — including Yuzu Wasabi, Creamy Chimichurri and Hatch Chili Ranch — in restaurants.
Kraft Heinz also innovated its condiment dispensers to make them easier to use and better positioned to meet changing consumer preferences.
Heinz Remix, which allows consumers to personalize flavor creations by combining their favorite condiments, was introduced in 2023 after only six months of development. That same year, Kraft Heinz debuted Heinz Tap, a device that features seven dispensaries side by side for dolling out condiments individually like mayo, mustard, ketchup and ranch dressing — making it handy for consumers in a stadium or workers in a restaurant.
The locations where the company sells Away From Home products have been analyzed, too. Kraft Heinz is looking for more opportunities to expand beyond restaurants where most of its foodservice business has occurred.
“What we've been focused on for the last three years is moving from being a restaurant business to an everywhere business, really expanding into those verticals that we hadn't necessarily been in before, to the extent that we should have been” such as schools, stadiums and hospitals, Hill said. “There is a huge world away from home outside of restaurants.”
Nearly two-thirds of the products Kraft Heinz sells away from the home are brands supermarket shoppers are aware of, like its iconic ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese and Philadelphia cream cheese. The rest include products like soup and a line of premium canned tomatoes called Escalon that are sold exclusively in foodservice.
