Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinzlaunched Heinz Dip & Crunch, a product that offers consumers the ability to dip their burgers into a sauce and then chips. The two-in-one packaging includes a container of tomato-based burger sauceand another tub containing crisp potato crunchers. It is available in original and spicy flavors.
- Heinz Dip & Crunch is available at grocers nationwide including Walmart, Meijer, Target and Giant. The company first tested the product at Jack in the Box locations on the West Coast earlier this year.
- As CPGs look to remain competitive against other large competitors and scrappy upstarts, companies such as Kraft Heinz are looking for new and creative ways to meet consumer needs and provide a fresh experience.
Dive Insight:
Since Kraft Heinz CEO MiguelPatriciotook the helm in 2019, the companyhas prioritized innovation to better meet broader consumer needs. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the move toward snacking, increased demand for well-established brands and increased how much people eat at home.
“We think that consumers are ... rediscovering new occasions at home,”SanjivGajiwala, Kraft Heinz's U.S.首席发展官told Food Dive in 2020。“他们重新发现,他们信任的品牌hadn’t necessarily engaged with in quite some time, and I think they’re finding that those can have value in their lives."
At Kraft Heinz's investor day in 2020, Carlos Abrams-Rivera, its U.S. zone president, detailed how growth at the company could be driven by a new type of consumer: younger, higher income, diverse and living in smaller households without kids. The company made the decision to devote 60% of its R&D resources to new innovations.
The Dip & Crunch product symbolizes this approach. The product was inspired by a trend on TikTok where users dipped their burgers into different sauce and chip combinations,according to Fast Company。By listening to social media, Kraft Heinz was able to discover the value and function that consumers were assigning to its condiments and quickly respond with a product.
Kraft Heinz has harnessed social media to inspire other new products. In 2018, the company launchedMayochup— combining ketchup with mayonnaise — after conductinga Twitter poll。Additional saucesblending mayonnaise with mustard and barbecue saucethen followed through internal development.
Other Kraft Heinz products that are timely responses to trends include a limited-timeMacaroni & Cheese-flavored ice creamwith VanLeeuwen, and apink version of its mac and cheesefor Valentine's Day.
Dip & Crunch also reflects how Kraft Heinz's embrace of data analytics can enable it to quickly respond to consumer trends. Most recently, the companypartnered with Googleto tap into AI and machine learning to guide the development of new flavors, formulations and products.
