Kraft Foods: Innovate or die
In the past four years, Kraft has invested around $10m in its Kendallville plant, which makes Jet-Puffed marshmallows and caramels.
However, the marshmallow category is very mature, and had bosses not invested heavily in new product development, Kendallville's story might have been one of managed decline, admits plant manager Mark Hughes (pictured).
Instead, the site - which employs more than 400 people and was the first Kraft plant to attain three sigma on all production lines - is going from strength to strength as Hughes’ team has developed new added value products targeting the faster-growing - and higher-margin - snacking segment, he says.
“Without the innovation, we’d have seen declines. We’re still largely in the baking aisle [of the store] but with our latest innovations we want to get into the snacking aisle. Ideally, I’d like to be at the cash register.”
Kraft is also seeking to cash in on seasonal opportunities by developing new heart-shaped products for Valentine’s and star-shaped products for July 4th, while the rapidly-growing Jet-Puffed Mallow Bites line is expanding to include fruit-flavored, ice cream cone shaped, and brownie bite mini-marshmallows for snacking, dipping and hot chocolate.
