Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees said the company achieved strong returns on investment in marketing, category management and e-store sales in 2018.
“We expanded in e-commerce and reach, driving 79 percent channel growth in United States alone, and a 1/10 market share index versus traditional retail,” Bernardo Hees said during an analyst meeting.
Kraft Heinz CIO Francesco Tinto is responsible technology deployments. Francesco Tinto focuses making investment in the right technology.
The CIO believes that tools powered by artificial intelligence can identify waste, inefficiencies, and areas ripe for trimming in manufacturing, supply chains, sales, and IT departments. Consumer goods firms can use robots to enhance efficiencies in the production process.
Nina Barton is the president Canada Zone and Digital Growth at Kraft Heinz. Kraft Heinz does not reveal the company’s investment in digital programs. A recent report said consumer goods companies such as Kraft Heinz and Procter & Gamble are utilizing the booming digital ad market to enhance revenue.
Bernardo Hees said the company will support new initiatives with brand programs, taking advantage of superior media efficiency, and increasing media effectiveness, sales lift per impression by deploying new creative tools in digital marketing.
Kraft Heinz, which has a strong digital strategy, plans to go to market in 2019 with a stronger innovation pipeline, backed by more marketing dollars while leveraging advantaged, category managed and go-to-market initiatives to win assortment and improve distribution across all channels, including e-commerce.
Kraft Heinz reported revenue of $26.259 billion in 2018 as compared with $26.085 billion in 2017. Kraft Heinz posted a loss of $12.6 billion in 2018 and warned that profits will tumble in 2019.
Kraft Heinz is expecting to achieve adjusted EBITDA of $6.3 billion to $6.5 billion in 2019. The achievement in adjusted EBITDA will be supported by commercial gains offset by stepped-up support of marketing, innovation, e-commerce and people.
Kraft Heinz CFO David Knopf is driving its cost control initiatives. “We are spending more to support a larger innovation pipeline and accelerate channel development, particularly in e-commerce,” Bernardo Hees said.
Rajani Baburajan
