In July 2015, Kraft Foods merged with Heinz to become the Kraft Heinz Company, a globally trusted producer of high-quality and nutritious food and beverages. Co-headquartered in Pittsburgh and Chicago, the company is the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage company, amassing $26 billion in global sales and employing 37,000 people in 40+ countries.
The Kraft Heinz merger, designed to increase both companies’ revenues and profits, successfully brought several iconic American brands to an international audience. The company’s portfolio now comprises more than 200 brands, eight of which are worth more than $1 billion. reusable juice pouch with straw
From ketchup and pickles to coffee and taquitos, here’s a rundown of Kraft Heinz brands, starting with the company’s namesakes.
Founded in 1869 by Henry John Heinz, Heinz started as a producer of horseradish. Today, the brand’s core products include ketchup, sauces, meals, and snacks.
Global net sales of Kraft Heinz’s condiments and sauces amounted to around $8.9 billion in 2023, with Heinz Tomato Ketchup being its most popular product. Indeed, Heinz Ketchup is a staple for most U.S. consumers, reaching just under 200 million people.
Other popular Heinz products include:
Kraft Foods’ namesake, James L. Kraft, began selling cheese from a horse-drawn wagon in Chicago in 1903. His four brothers joined him shortly after, and together they formed the J.L. Kraft & Bros. Company in 1909 and opened their first cheese factory in 1914.
Over the decades, the company acquired various brands. It changed its name to Kraft Food Inc. Tobacco giant Philip Morris acquired the brand in 1988 before merging it with General Foods a year later, forming a $30 billion food subsidiary known as Kraft General Foods. In 1985, it became a single operating company, with the Kraft Foods name revived until the Kraft Heinz merger of 2015.
Some of the most popular Kraft-branded products include:
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First invented in the 1820s by Henderson William Brand, the personal chef for King George
the IV of Great Britain, A.1. Sauce (previously known as A.1. Steak Sauce) is a popular brand of brown sauce.
Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, which owned the A.1. brand, in 1999. Its product range now features sauces and marinades, including Original Steak Sauce, Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce, Chicago Steakhouse Marinade, and New Orleans Cajun Marinade.
Classico is best known for crafting authentic-tasting Italian sauces. Its product range includes pasta sauces, olive oils, pesto, and recently frozen pizzas. In 2001, Heinz acquired Borden Foods Corporation, the owner of Classico, for an undisclosed sum.
Moutardier Maurice Grey and Auguste Poupon formed the Grey Poupon Mustard Company in France in 1777. Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, which owned Grey Poupon, in 1999.
In 2017, Kraft Heinz invested $17 million to start producing Grey Poupon products in Holland. Although best known for Dijon mustard, the brand also manufactures wholegrain mustard.
Other condiments & sauces developed and distributed by Kraft Heinz include Lea & Perrins, Miracle Whip, Primal Kitchen.
Bagel Bites is a brand of oven-baked bite-sized snacks, made with bagels and inspired by pizza. Bob Mosher and Stanley Garcynski created the brand in 1985, and Heinz acquired it in 1991 when it started selling the products under its Ore-Ida brand. Today, bagel bites are sold with various pizza-inspired toppings, including Cheese & Pepperoni, Cheese Sausage & Pepperoni, and Three Cheese.
Bagel Bites also introduced a range of Bagel Dogs, which wrap mini pork and beef hotdogs in a bagel dough.
Bakers Chocolate is a popular brand of baking chocolate, founded in the 1760s as Hannon’s Best Chocolate. Ownership passed to Kraft Foods in 1989 after the merger with General Foods.
Today, the chocolate brand sells a range of flavored baking chocolate bars, a real milk dipping chocolate pot, and a shaved coconut product for various dessert recipes.
The pickled cucumber brand, Claussen & Sons, was founded in 1870 by Claus Claussen, a Chicago-based vegetable farmer. The company began when Claussen converted a truckload of unsold cucumbers into pickles to avoid wastage.
In 2020, the brand celebrated its 150th anniversary. Its product range includes whole pickles, pickle slices, hot & spicy pickles, and pickle chips. Kraft Foods acquired the brand after merging with General Foods in 1989.
Jell-O is a manufacturer of powdered gelatin desserts. Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked the first Jell-O gelatin dessert in 1897. Still, the product only rose to real popularity in 1904 with the introduction of the prophetic slogan "America’s Most Famous Dessert.”
Postum Cereal Company, which later became General Foods and then Kraft Foods, acquired the company in 1925. Today, Jell-O’s product range includes gelatin dessert mixes, pudding and pie filling mixes, dessert kits for kids, and ready-to-eat snack cups.
Other snacks, food cupboard items, and desserts developed and distributed by Kraft Heinz include Jet-Puffed, Just Crack an Egg, Shake ‘N’ Bake, Stove Top, and Lunchables.
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Introduced by General Foods in 1975, Country Time produces non-carbonated drink mixes and soft drinks. Describing itself as "the official lemonade of lemonade stands,” the brand sells a variety of flavors, including its original Lemonade flavor, Blueberry Lemonade, and Strawberry Lemonade, which are all available in multiple sizes.
Introduced by General Foods in 1982, Crystal Light produces low-calorie drink mixes and powders in flavors such as Berry Sangria, Black Cherry, Classic Orange, and Citrus.
In 2024, the brand added to its portfolio for the first time in over a decade, launching Mixology, Immunity, and Energy products.
Founded in 1853, Gevalia is a Scandinavian coffee roastery. Its products are made from 100% Arabica beans, which are slow-roasted and snap-cooled to lock in flavor and aroma.
Gevalia ownership passed to Kraft Foods in 1989 after it merged with General Foods. In 2011, Kraft Foods announced the brand’s U.S. retail launch. The coffee producer currently sells a range of coffee pods, froth packets, and ground coffees.
Founded in 1927 by Nebraska-born Edwin Perkins, Kool-Aid is a manufacturer of flavored drink powders. The product was originally available in six flavors — grape, lemon-lime, cherry, orange, raspberry, and strawberry — and sold to wholesale grocery and candy stores in 10-cent packets.
In 1931, Perkins moved his operations to Chicago. General Foods purchased Kool-Aid in 1953 and introduced the brand’s famous “Smiling Face Pitcher” a year later. Today, Kool-Aid sells powdered soft drink mixes, flavored soft drinks, ready-to-drink juices, and ready-to-eat Jell-O cups, all available in various flavors and sizes.
Other beverages manufactured and distributed by Kraft Heinz include Maxwell House, Mio, and Tassimo.
Founded in New York in 1964, Benihana operates more than 100 Japanese teppanyaki and sushi restaurants, serving 15 million guests annually.
To expand its business and diversify its customer base, the restaurateur partnered with Kraft Heinz to develop a range of Benihana frozen food products, which now include Yakisoba Chicken, Yakisoba Steak, and Hibachi Chicken Rice.
Capri-Sun is a brand of juice concentrate–based soft drinks. Founded by Rudolf Wild in Germany in 1969, its products were the first beverages to be sold in a stand-up pouch.
The brand was acquired by Kraft Foods in 1991 for $155 million. Today, the Capri-Sun product range includes Zero, Bubbles, Squash, and Syrup, each available in various flavors.
According to Forbes, its products are consumed in more than 100 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue of $500 million.
“Cool and creamy, delicious and dreamy,” Cool Whip is a brand of frozen whipped topping designed to make desserts extra special. Dr. William A. Mitchell, a food scientist and General Foods employee, developed the first Cool Whip product in 1966.
Kraft Foods acquired the brand after merging with General Foods in 1989. Its product range now includes Original, Extra Creamy, Fat-Free, and Sugar-Free.
Founded in 1984, Delimex — a combination of “delicious” and “Mexican” — produces frozen taquitos using Mexican-inspired ingredients. Its taquitos, which feature a golden, crispy shell filled with melted cheese and shredded meat, are available in several flavors, including Beef and cheddar, Chicken and cheese, and Beef Corn. Delimex also sells a range of crispy quesadillas. The brand was acquired by Heinz in 2001.
Philadelphia, known as Philly, is the world’s leading cream cheese brand. It was founded in 1980 by Alvah Reynolds, who manufactured Philadelphia Cream Cheese for several years. The Phenix Cheese Company of New York, which later merged with Kraft Foods, purchased the brand in 1903.
Today, Philadelphia products, including Original, Whipped, Cheesecake, and Plant-Based cream cheese, are sold in more than 100 countries.
Kraft Heinz also developed and distributed other frozen and chilled foods, including Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, and Smart Ones.
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