Kraft Heinz to Ramp Up Marketing Spend Despite Potential Breakup
The numbers
$6.4 billion — Kraft Heinz’s Q2 2025 net sales, down 1.9% year-over-year.
1.5% to 3.5% — Expected organic net sales decrease for the rest of the year.
20% — Increased investment in media in North America for the second half of the year.
4.8% — Percentage of sales Kraft Heinz expects to allocate to marketing for the rest of 2025.
Watercooler talk
Kraft Heinz will increase its media spend in North America by 20% in the second half of the year as it attempts to reverse sluggish sales amid talk of a potential breakup.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Carlos Abrams-Rivera said that the company’s “Brand Growth System,” its global methodology to measure, monitor, and drive brand growth, is “gaining momentum” in North America.
He added that the company will increase its marketing budget by 75% across some of its kid-favorite brands like Lunchables, Capri Sun, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Jell-O.
Chief financial officer (CFO) Andre Maciel said that to optimize marketing spend, Kraft Heinz will boost investment in pricing, marketing, product R&D, e-commerce, and its salesforce in emerging markets.
Under North America chief marketing officer Todd Kaplan, who joined from PepsiCo in July 2024, Kraft Heinz has done work including a Kool-Aid collaboration with Nike for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s signature Ja 2 shoe and dropped its first new mustard flavor in nearly a decade with Grammy Award-winning hip-hop producer Mustard. In February, Kaplan told ADWEEK that Kraft Heinz’s marketing strategy entails integrating its brands “deeper into culture.”
That approach, however, has sometimes fallen flat, such as with its controversial “Heinz Smiles” ad, criticized for evoking Blackface imagery.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kraft Heinz plans to spin off part of its grocery business, including several Kraft products, leaving Heinz’s portfolio of condiments and sauces. A spokesperson declined to confirm the report to ADWEEK.
