Kraft Heinz reports strong quarter thanks to ready meals

Food giant Kraft Heinz has delivered a better than expected second quarter. Despite the easings of Covid measures globally, consumers are finding it hard to let go of their lockdown habits, it seems. With CEO Miguel Patricio, yet another food industry executive warns of rising commodity costs.

Pandemic habits stick around

Kraft Heinz recorded a minimal drop in turnover to 6.62 billion dollars (5.6 billion euros), but that was still considerably better than the average analyst expectation of 6.55 billion dollars. For the full financial year, the company is aiming for operating cash flow to exceed the 6.61 billion dollars recorded in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The favourable figures in the second quarter are surfing the wave of food trends still hanging around from during the coronavirus lockdowns, when people were relying on the prepackaged meals in which Kraft Heinz is strong, due to restaurant closures and obligatory working from home. “We see signs that certain habits from during the pandemic are sticking, even now that most restrictions have been lifted”, the food giant commented.

CEO Miguel Patricio, like several other top food industry executives, expressed concerns about the rising costs of raw materials, packaging and transport. However, unlike Iglo recently, he refrained from passing these costs on to his customers and described the current rate of cost inflation as “manageable”.