Sales Growth in Emerging Markets on Radar for Kraft Heinz

KRAFT HEINZ aims to build sales in emerging markets largely by leveraging the strength of the Heinz brand.

Emerging Markets currently make up 10% of the food giant’s business, but Chief Executive Officer Carlos Abrams-Rivera sees significant long-term opportunity for growth. 

“With only half the penetration in Emerging Markets as we have in Developed Markets, there is a lot of white space for us to capture,” he said recently in a presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference.

Abrams-Rivera listed three levers to spur growth in Emerging Markets.

• Heinz Brand: The “crown jewel” in the company’s portfolio of iconic brands, Heinz, represents $1.2 billion of revenue in Emerging Markets and delivered impressive sales growth of 8% in 2024. 
• Go-to-Market Model: “We continue to drive distribution in the market and explore white space opportunity. Through this proven model, we expanded distribution point by 17% in 2024. And looking ahead, we’ve identified a meaningful opportunity to unlock an additional $75 million in untapped white space over the next three years by leveraging a global scale and the iconic Heinz brand. This opportunity spans across over 100 countries We have identified 15 countries to focus to be positioning ourselves to drive double-digit growth.”
• Innovation: The company will continue to accelerate the growth of the Heinz brand through flavor exploration, expanding usage occasions and driving value to the right portfolio and pack size.

In related news, Kraft Heinz has appointed Marcel Regis as President, West and East Emerging Markets, effective February 3, 2025. Marcel will be based in Brazil and will lead the Kraft Heinz business in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which is one of the business Zones created in 2024. He joined Kraft Heinz from Loft, a technology company serving Latin America.

“Marcel is a proven leader with extensive international experience helping transform and grow businesses across the consumer goods industry,” said Abrams-Rivera. “Emerging Markets is one of our three Growth Pillars, and Marcel has the experience, mindset and vision that we need to accelerate growth in critical markets around the world.”