Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. is an American grocery manufacturing and processing conglomerate[4] headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, part of the Kraft Heinz Company.[5]

This article is about the company spun off following the 2012 split of the original Kraft Foods. For the original company that became Mondelez International, see Kraft Foods Inc. For this company's parent, see Kraft Heinz.

Kraft Foods Group, Inc.
Type
Division[1]
ISINUS50076Q1067 
IndustryFood processing
PredecessorKraft Foods Inc.
FoundedOctober 1, 2012 (2012-10-01)
FounderJames L. Kraft
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
John Cahill
(Chairman and CEO)
ProductsList of products
Revenue US$ 18.218 billion (2013)[2]
US$ 4.591 billion (2013)[2]
US$ 2.715 billion (2013)[2]
Total assets US$ 23.148 billion (2013)[2]
Total equity US$ 5.187 billion (2013)[2]
Number of employees
23,000 (2012)[3]
ParentKraft Heinz
Websitewww.kraftheinzcompany.com

The company was restructured in 2012 as a spin off from Kraft Foods Inc., which in turn was renamed Mondelez International. The new Kraft Foods Group was focused mainly on grocery products for the North American market while Mondelez is focused on international confectionery and snack brands. Until the merger with Heinz, Kraft Foods Group was an independent public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

On July 2, 2015, Kraft completed its merger with Heinz, arranged by Heinz owners Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital,[6][7] creating the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world, Kraft Heinz Company.[8][9]

History

Spinoff of Kraft Foods Group from Mondelēz International, Inc

In August 2011, Kraft Foods Inc. announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies—a snack food company and a grocery company.[10]

On April 2, 2012, Kraft Foods Inc. announced that it had filed a Form 10 Registration Statement to the SEC to split the company into two companies to serve the "North American grocery business".[11]

On October 1, 2012, Kraft Foods Inc. spun off its North American grocery business to a new company called Kraft Foods Group, Inc. The remainder of Kraft Foods Inc. was renamed Mondelēz International, Inc. and was refocused as an international snack and confection company.[12]

On November 19, 2013, an arbitration ruling ordered Starbucks to pay Kraft Foods Inc. $2.7 billion because of an early contract termination. The money will go to Mondelēz International, Inc.[13]

Kraft and Heinz merger

On March 25, 2015, Kraft Foods Group Inc. announced that it would merge with the H.J. Heinz Company, owned by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., to form the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company.[14] Kraft's shares rose about 17 percent in premarket trading after the announcement of the deal, which will bring Heinz back to the public market following its takeover over two years prior.[15] The companies completed the merger on July 2, 2015.[16]

Sponsorships and promotions

Kraft is an official partner and sponsor of both Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League. Kraft Hockeyville began in 2006 as a Canadian reality television series developed by CBC/SRC Sports and sponsored by Kraft Foods in which communities across Canada compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The contest revolves around a central theme of community spirit. The winning community gets a cash prize dedicated to upgrading their local home arena, as well as the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game. In 2007, it was then relegated to segments aired during Hockey Night in Canada. In 2015, Kraft Hockeyville was expanded into the United States, with a separate competition for communities there.

From 2002 to 2014, Kraft sponsored the Kraft Nabisco Championship, one of the four "majors" on the LPGA tour. The company also sponsored the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a post-season college football bowl game, from 2010 to 2012.

In 2011, Kraft has released an iPad app called "Big Fork Little Fork" which, in addition to games and other distractions, has information regarding how to use Kraft Foods in nutritious ways.[17][18]

Brands
The old Kraft logo still seen on some Kraft-branded products

The company's core businesses are in beverage, cheese, dairy foods, snack foods, and convenience foods. Kraft's major brands include:[19]

  • A.1.
  • Boca Burger
  • Capri Sun U.S. Licensee
  • Claussen pickles
  • Field
  • Gevalia
  • Grey Poupon
  • Horsemen
  • Jell-O
  • Kool-Aid
  • Kraft, including Kraft Dinner, Kraft Singles, Kraft Mayo
  • Maxwell House
  • Oscar Mayer
  • Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • Planters
  • Polly-O
  • RIDG's Finer Foods, licensing name used by Kraft addressing Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
  • Seven Seas – salad dressings[20][21]
  • Velveeta

Corporate social responsibility

For years, Kraft purchased paper for its packaging from Asia Pulp & Paper, the third-largest paper producer in the world, which was labeled as a "forest criminal" for destroying "precious habitat" in Indonesia's rainforest.[22] In 2011, when Kraft canceled its contract with Asia Pulp & Paper, Greenpeace Executive Director Phil Radford commended Kraft for efforts made towards forest protection, for "taking rainforest conservation seriously".[23]

Controversy

Food quality

In 2013, food blogger and activist Vani Hari and blogger Lisa Leake launched an online petition drive to compel Kraft Foods Group, Inc. to remove controversial synthetic dyes Yellow 5 (labeled as Tartrazine) and Yellow 6 from its signature macaroni and cheese products.[24] In April 2013, Hari and Leake delivered a petition with some 270,000 signatures to Kraft headquarters in Chicago, Ill., and asked the company to change its macaroni and cheese recipes.[25][26] In October 2013, Kraft announced that it would remove artificial dyes from three macaroni and cheese varieties made in kid-friendly shapes, but not its plain elbow-shaped Kraft Macaroni and Cheese product with "original flavor".[27] However, in 2017 the New York Times highlighted the continued prevalence of harmful chemicals of phthalates, which can cause male hormone disruption, that were found in high concentrations in Kraft boxed macaroni and cheese powder.[28]

Factory pollution

In 1989, Kraft Foods was listed as one of the top polluters in Ontario,[29] for pumping into Hoople Creek (Ingleside, Ontario) pollutants including phosphorus, suspended solids, and oxygen-destroying material.

See also
  • List of Kraft brands
  • List of dairy product companies in the United States
  • General Foods
  • Ovson Egg

References
  1. "Prospectus Filed Pursuant to Rule 424". The Kraft Heinz Company. July 2, 2015. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Form 10-K, Securities and Exchange Commission, February 21, 2014
  3. "About Us". Kraft Foods. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  4. "Kraft Foods Inc". Funding Universe. 2002. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
  5. "Kraft Heinz moving Illinois headquarters from Northfield to Chicago". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  6. Giammona, Craig; Boyle, Matthew (March 25, 2015). "Kraft Will Merge With Heinz in Deal Backed by 3G and Buffett". Bloomberg News. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  7. "Kraft Foods to merge with ketchup maker Heinz". Reuters. March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  8. Feeney, Nolan (March 25, 2015). "Kraft and Heinz Merge to Become World's 5th-Largest Food Company". Time.
  9. Coyne, Justine (July 2, 2015). "Goodbye H.J. Heinz Co.; Kraft Heinz merger a done deal". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  10. "Kraft Foods Announces Intent to Create Two Independent, Publically [sic] Traded Companies" (Press release). Kraft Foods. August 4, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2018 – via PR Newswire.
  11. "Kraft Foods Announces Filing Of Form 10 Registration Statement For Planned Spin-Off Of North American Grocery Company" (Press release). Kraft Foods. April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012 – via PR Newswire.
  12. Rushe, Dominic (March 21, 2012). "Kraft spins off snacks business into new Mondelez International company". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  13. Jed, Emily (November 19, 2013). "Starbucks To Pay Kraft $2.7 Billion For Early Contract Termination". Vending Machine News. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  14. "H.J. Heinz Company And Kraft Foods Group Sign Definitive Merger Agreement To Form The Kraft Heinz Company" (Press release). March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  15. "Kraft and Heinz merger to form world's fifth-largest food company led by Warren Buffet". Reuters. March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  16. "The Kraft Heinz Company Announces Successful Completion of the Merger between Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Holding Corporation" (PDF) (Press release). The Kraft Heinz Company. July 2, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  17. "Big Fork Little Fork". KraftRecipes.Com. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  18. Kleinberg, Adam (January 4, 2011). "Why Every Brand Needs an Open API for Developers". Mashable. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  19. "Largest Brands". Kraft Foods Group. 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  20. "Processed Prepared Food". 151. Gorman Publishing Company. 1982: 38. Retrieved June 12, 2018. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. Wilbur, T. (2000). Low-Fat Top Secret Recipes. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-101-15388-8. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  22. "Paper Giant Pledges to Leave the Poor Rainforest Alone. Finally. Asia Pulp & Paper—the notorious destroyer of pristine tiger and orangutan habitat—says it's changing its ways". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  23. Radford, Phil. "Hasbro Turns Over a New Leaf, Steps Up for Rainforests". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  24. Bachai, Sabrina (November 1, 2013). "Kraft To Remove Artificial Dyes From Mac And Cheese: Yellow Dye Linked To Hyperactivity In Children". Medical Daily. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  25. Harris, Paul (April 2, 2013). "Kraft meets with bloggers protesting chemical additives in mac'n'cheese". The Guardian. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  26. Wilson, Jacque. "Kraft removing artificial dyes from some mac and cheese". CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  27. "Kraft to remove artificial dyes from macaroni & cheese". New York Post. Associated Press. October 31, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  28. Rabin, Roni Caryn (July 12, 2017). "The Chemicals in Your Mac and Cheese". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  29. Tom Spears (March 11, 1989). "The Dirty Dozen". The Toronto Star. p. D1 and D5.
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