Kraft Heinz has raised its annual sales forecast after a major investment programme launched by its new CEO helped the company stem its long-term decline.
CEO Steve Cahillane joined the company in January and quickly launched a $600m investment plan to revive US market share and accelerate innovation.
While its net sales decreased 1.4% in the second quarter, this was ahead of expectations and has boosted confidence in Cahillane’s strategy.
As a result, Kraft Heinz now expects annual organic sales to fall between 0.5% to 2.0% this year, an improvement on its previous view of a 1.5% to 3.5% decline.
Cahillane called it “another solid quarter”, with results exceeding expectations across its US retail, global away from home, and emerging markets divisions.
“Our brands are resonating with consumers, and our share performance is improving,” he said. “The progress we are seeing gives us the confidence to raise our organic net sales outlook for the year.”
To try and build some momentum, Kraft Heinz is now boosting its investment pool by $100m to approximately $700m in 2026.
“We have seen that our brands respond well when we invest behind them. By accelerating these investments, we position the business even more favorably as we enter 2027,” Cahillane said.
The company’s volumes fell 2.6% in the quarter with losses in North America and other developed markets partially offset by growth in emerging markets. Sales were supported by price rises of 1.3%, with every division seeing an increase.
Kraft Heinz is among a host of major food companies struggling to hold on to customers at the moment as they feel the squeeze on everything from inflation to GLP-1s.
In the UK, Heinz’s sales fell by 4.2% to £913m last year, primarily driven by a 3.8% decline in volumes. It was the second consecutive year of falling sales.
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