The future of Kraft Heinz new product development (NPD) is due to include avocado sauces, fermented foods and anti-oxidant lemonade according to GlobalData a leading data and analytics company. The recently launched Kraft Heinz Springboard program will partner with companies who are disrupting food and drink markets in order to bring exciting new product innovation to supermarket shelves.
The Kraft Heinz Springboard program is designed to create partnerships with the most innovative product developments from up and coming smaller independent players. In return these players have the opportunity to work with a big FMCG business and gain increased exposure and capabilities.
Ronan Stafford, Lead Consumer Analyst for GlobalData commented, “Springboard offers a 16 week program, ensuring that Kraft can rapidly rotate brands and increase the chance of finding a big win.’’
Kraft Heinz has joined companies like PepsiCo, Coca Cola and General Mills in setting up incubators to foster the growth of disruptive products. Ayoba-Yo Meat Snacks stands out as Kraft Heinz’s strongest bet as consumers continue to snack frequently and are looking for healthier alternatives to chocolate and potato-based snacks.
Stafford explains, “Meat snacks match well with lots of different spices, appealing to adventurous consumers. However meat snacks remain a small market worldwide, rarely accounting for more than 10% of Savory Snack sales so this investment could make Kraft Heinz a big fish, but only in a small pond.”
The other four investments are closer to a game of hipster buzzword bingo. Cleveland Kraut fermented food, Kumana avocado-based sauces, Poppilu antioxidant lemonade and Quevos egg-white snacks are all on-trend. They target popular health needs and flavor trends, and are strongly differentiated from current offerings in these markets.
Stafford adds, ‘‘However, these four products target trends that are fleeting, many feel that we have reached “peak avocado”, fermented foods and egg-white snacks might be too unusual to resonate with a mass market audience, and selling health claims in lemonade is challenging, with drinks struggling to overcome perceptions of being either too high in sugar or full of artificial sweeteners.
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