Kraft Heinz Disaster Shows Cost-Cutting Won't Save Packaged Goods

[rcjordan]

http://fortune.com/2019/02/22/kraft-heinz-disaster-cost-cutting/

I have problems with the explanations I see about people moving to healthier choices. That's BS. People are eating Whoppers and Big Macs 3 times a day.

[Travoli]

>People are eating Whoppers
Kraft mac&cheese and Oscar Mayer hot dogs require preparation.

Most people don't care about the quality of calories. They care about the effort.

Panera is pushing Mac and Cheese options hard on their app. They are 950-1150 calories each. That is roughly the same as a box of Kraft mac&cheese.
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/09/13/1570193/0/en/Panera-Bread-Is-the-First-National-Restaurant-Company-to-Offer-100-Clean-Build-Your-Own-Mac-Cheese-Bar.html

[nffc]

I agree with you both but people are more educated about food, I do think the health aspect is important.

Source: Middle of nowhere in Vietnam, man brings out some "energy" drinks (was a long day), nammers all look at the nutrition info. 56 gram's  of sugar and they all noped out.

[Brad]

Travoli you have a point.  You have to adapt your products to the market.  Many more people are heating food for one or two people.  They just spent an hour commuting in traffic home, they just want to heat stuff up in the microwave.

Also, we are now several generations into "parents that didn't cook"  they were busy working.  So they never cooked and never passed that on to kids.  That effects your products.

[rcjordan]

Related?

Pubs are closing down at a rate of one every 12 hours, new figures show
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/24/pubs-closing-rate-one-every-12-hours-new-figures-show/

[nffc]

>Related?

Maybe slightly but I think the smoking ban hit hard plus young un's nowdays get drunk at home (cheaper) and then go to the pub.

And as seen on twitter... "Americans eat like they have free health care."

[Brad]

>Pubs

I thought the Thatcher "reforms" forcing breweries to divest of most of their pubs was a major part of that.

[rcjordan]

Like other packaged food companies, Campbell has been struggling to attract young, increasingly health-conscious consumers. It has tried to make its portfolio healthier, and launched a cost-cutting and divestment plan in August.

Campbell reported a net quarterly loss, hurt by higher restructuring costs and a $346 million writedown of its troubled fresh food business.

This is the fourth time Camden, New Jersey-based Campbell has written down the value of its fresh unit since September 2016, knocking about $1.35 billion off its value in total.

Campbell Soup beats earnings estimates, shares rise | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-campbell-soup-results/campbell-soup-reports-2nd-quarter-loss-idUSKCN1QG1R9

[littleman]

I am not really seeing the under 30 crowd eating healthy, more like they are eating differently than older adults.  I see a lot of kids with extra-squishy bodies drinking sugary drinks.   I think the issue is more that they don't tend to cook (or even use a microwave) as much as their parents did.

[rcjordan]

>They care about the effort.
> the issue is more that they don't tend to cook

Yeah, I agree with you & Trav.  At least that's what I'm seeing.  At the fast-food level, they can also make the argument that eating out isn't much more expensive. 

[Brad]

>fast-food

Bing!  I had not thought of that, but it's a good observation

[ergophobe]

I am not really seeing the under 30 crowd eating healthy

One word: poutine

[rcjordan]

>One word:

Pizza !!

[I, Brian]

Bad management, fin.