Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) executives outlined a plan to accelerate volume-led growth and reverse long-running market share declines, particularly in the U.S., during a company presentation led by Chief Executive Officer Steve Cahillane and Chief Financial Officer Andre Maciel. Management said the company will “step up” investments by about $600 million this year, aimed at making legacy brands more relevant to today’s consumers, improving commercial execution, and delivering a “more balanced value equation” through pricing and pack architecture.
Using “blueprints” from Canada, Europe, and emerging markets
Cahillane said he joined the company earlier this year and found that, alongside iconic brands, Kraft Heinz has “tangible, repeatable blueprints” in certain markets that have delivered volume-driven growth and share gains. He highlighted Canada, the U.K., and emerging markets as examples of approaches the company intends to replicate and scale.
In Europe and the Pacific developed markets, which he said represent about 14% of net sales, Cahillane pointed to gains tied to a global Heinz campaign and scaled innovation. He cited Heinz Pasta Sauce, which he said is nearly 60% incremental to the category and has reached 7% share in under four years. He also highlighted growth in mayonnaise, describing the segment as a $2 billion market about twice the size of ketchup. Kraft Heinz’s Heinz Mayo reached 20% share in the U.K. and 13% in Germany, he said.
Heinz Beanz: reversing a decade of share losses
Cahillane described a turnaround for Heinz Beanz in the U.K. after a decade of market share declines, attributing past weakness to underinvestment, inferior product quality and packaging, price points that were “too high,” and insufficient media support. The company changed the product formulation to improve texture, adjusted revenue management and price-pack architecture, rebuilt customer joint business plans, and expanded into new flavors based on consumer insights that many households already add flavor to beans.
He also emphasized expansion into heat-to-eat pouches, a segment he said has been growing at a 130% CAGR over the past two years. Management said the pouches are nearly 70% incremental and include “no added sugar,” while the brand received a 30% marketing increase. Cahillane said Kraft Heinz reversed share losses while preserving the brand’s “very attractive margins.”
Emerging markets growth and a China ketchup campaign
Emerging markets currently represent about 11% of Kraft Heinz’s business, Cahillane said, calling it a long runway given lower category penetration versus developed markets. He said the Heinz brand in emerging markets represents more than $1 billion in revenue and delivered 13% organic net sales growth in 2025. Kraft Heinz also expanded distribution points by 13% in 2025, he said.
As an example, Cahillane described a China campaign designed to expand ketchup usage by positioning Heinz Ketchup as a reliable ingredient for tomato scrambled eggs. He said the effort generated approximately 170 basis points of share improvement, reaching 32% ketchup market share in China, while improving household penetration by 18 basis points. He also said e-commerce sales during Chinese New Year rose 30% year over year.
U.S. turnaround: investing to stop share losses
Management described the U.S. as the company’s most important challenge, representing about 67% of the business and the market where “the bulk of our issues exist.” Cahillane said Kraft Heinz has leading retail positions—70% of retail revenue from brands ranked number one or number two in share—and 96% household penetration. However, he said the U.S. business has lost share consistently over the last 10 years, with trends worsening in 2025, driven by operating complexity, underperforming innovation, and insufficient funding.
He said stepped-up investments last year began to show traction, citing a 20 basis point improvement in the fourth quarter of 2025 relative to the full year. He also said a modest recovery could have an outsized impact: returning to the 10-year average share decline rate would improve North America top-line performance by about 2 percentage points, though he noted that level would not be satisfactory long term.
In Taste Elevation categories, Cahillane said that by Q4 2025 more than 70% of categories were gaining share, including ketchup, salad dressing, cream cheese, and mustard. He also cited improvements by year-end in categories that had been headwinds earlier in 2025, including mac and cheese, Lunchables, mayo, and Capri Sun.
One featured example was Capri Sun’s launch into resealable single-serve bottles for the convenience channel. Cahillane said the bottle format carries higher margins than the base business and is 60% incremental, with 11% ACV growth in convenience stores and 16,000 new stores added since launch.
How the $600 million investment will be deployed and funded
Maciel said the company’s investment plan spans pricing, R&D, innovation, marketing, and sales, while incentives will be adjusted to emphasize market share milestones—particularly for sales and marketing teams.
- Pricing and packs: Maciel said the company will not make “widespread material price investments,” but will invest in “opening price points” across categories representing about 40% of the U.S. portfolio and refine price-pack architecture to address both bulk value and smaller affordable packs.
- Promotions: The company plans to reallocate promotional spend toward the highest-return activities and concentrate a large portion of the incremental investment in the second half of 2026 to allow for better planning and execution.
- R&D: Kraft Heinz is increasing R&D investment by approximately 20%, focusing on core and “big bet” innovation, with an emphasis on product and packaging superiority and speed to market.
- Marketing: Marketing investment is expected to rise to about 5.5% of net sales in 2026, up from 4.9% in 2025. Maciel said return on ad spend improved 12% in 2025 and the company sees room for further improvement.
- Headcount and capabilities: Maciel said the company is increasing the size of marketing and sales teams to close gaps versus peers, a point Cahillane reinforced by saying the organization has been “more than lean” over the last decade.
To fund the investments, Maciel said Kraft Heinz expects to continue unlocking efficiencies and productivity. He said the company is on track to exceed its $2.5 billion gross efficiencies target by the end of 2026, one year ahead of plan, with additional opportunities in manufacturing, logistics, procurement, and the use of digital tools and automation. He also cited Global Business Services savings of $62 million over the past three years.
Maciel said the company’s outlook remains unchanged from what it communicated on the prior week’s earnings call, with expectations that 2026 is the “margin floor,” investments drive share momentum in the second half of the year, and the company is positioned to grow in 2027. He also said free cash flow conversion is expected to be approximately 100% this year.
On capital allocation, Maciel said priorities include stepping up investment, maintaining net leverage around 3x (including using excess cash to reduce debt in 2026), actively managing the portfolio, and returning excess capital to shareholders.
In Q&A, Cahillane addressed portfolio strategy, saying the company paused separation work to focus “100%” on fixing the business, arguing that turning around a declining business and separating the company simultaneously would be “very difficult, if not impossible.” He said the pause preserves optionality for future strategic actions, but stressed that the immediate priority is stopping Kraft Heinz from being “a donor of market share.”
About Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.
Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.
