How Kraft Heinz Is Rewriting the Rules for Iconic CPG Brands
The era of relying solely on heritage and high awareness is over. Brands that once dominated the pantry through sheer scale now face a landscape where attention is fragmented across generations, discoverability is shifting toward algorithms, and cultural relevance has to be earned in real time. The brands winning today are those that can bridge the gap between their storied history and a rapidly changing consumer.
This evolution is the focus of the latest episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, where Matt Britton speaks with Todd Kaplan, Chief Marketing Officer at Kraft Heinz North America. Recorded live at the POSSIBLE conference, the conversation covers how Kraft Heinz is keeping 70 iconic brands relevant — from NFL tailgates to TikTok feeds.
Tune into the latest episode or read the highlights below.
The Strategy of Individualized Growth
With 96 percent household penetration, Kraft Heinz brands are already staples. But Todd explains that growth requires identifying the unique needs of each subcategory. Repositioning Philadelphia cream cheese as a key cooking ingredient rather than just a bagel spread, or launching protein-enriched mac and cheese to meet the wellness moment — every brand has a distinct growth lever, and finding it requires genuine consumer insight.
The Generational Media Divide — and What It Means for Marketers
Todd tells a story that every marketer should sit with. After a Lakers game, he, his father, and his son all tried to talk about the same moment — but they’d each experienced it completely differently. His dad watched the full game. Todd caught the highlights on SportsCenter. His son saw two dunks on TikTok. Same event, three entirely different contexts. That fragmentation isn’t just a media planning challenge. It’s a fundamental shift in how people understand and connect with culture — and marketers who don’t account for it will miss the consumer entirely.
The NFL Partnership: Culture as the Ultimate Connector
The new five-year global partnership with the NFL across 20+ Kraft Heinz brands is, in Todd’s framing, one of the most natural brand fits the company has ever made. The NFL is the last bastion of true live engagement at scale — and Kraft Heinz brands are already on the table at every tailgate and viewing party. The partnership spans broadcast, in-store activations, custom packaging, and online — a genuine full-funnel play anchored in cultural authenticity.
Full-Funnel Marketing in a Pressured Economy
Rising costs, private label growth, and shifting SNAP benefits create real headwinds for CPG marketers. Todd’s answer is a balanced approach: lower-funnel e-commerce tactics through partners like Instacart and retail media networks to drive conversion, combined with continued investment in upper-funnel brand building. Cutting long-term investment for short-term quarterly gains, he argues, is a strategy that eventually runs out of steam.
AI as an Accelerator, Not a Replacement
Kraft Heinz is using proprietary in-house AI tools to speed up creative versioning, resizing, and personalization at scale. Todd is clear that the goal isn’t AI-generated advertising for its own sake — it’s freeing the marketing team to focus on the high-level strategy and creative thinking that machines can’t replicate. He also notes that brands need to stay visible in AI-driven discovery environments, where not making the algorithmic short list is the equivalent of being invisible.
The Entrepreneurial Marketer
For the next generation of leaders, Todd’s advice is both simple and demanding: you make the role, the role doesn’t make you. Bring an enterprising view to whatever position you’re in. Treat a large company like a source of venture funding for new ideas. Build breadth, not just depth. And above all, focus on doing great work in the role in front of you — because reputation is built over time, not overnight.
