With almost 400 years of business between Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods Group, and General Mills Inc., "innovation" is the last phrase expected when talking about these food powerhouses. But innovation it is; all three have rolled out a number of new products and rebrandings in the first part of 2014, with promises of more to come.
Targeting specific consumer trends in the food industry, below are a few examples of the type of innovation that keeps these companies running (and running, and running) for a century and counting.
Coca-Cola Company
The number of beverages furnished from a company founded in a backyard would surprise even Coca-Cola’s founder John Pemberton. Since 1886, it has proven to be a driving force in the beverage industry, from its successful 1985 “New Coke” marketing campaign to its acquisition of multiple beverage brands in the 1990s. But sales of soda—all brands—have been down, with overall demand dropping for nine consecutive years.
To distance itself from these falling numbers and the rising amount of anti-sugar and aspartame chatter, Coca-Cola has been expanding its range of non-soda offerings. Tapping into the growing energy drinks category (posting a 5.5% growth in 2013), Coca-Cola launched Vitaminwater Energy earlier this year with natural sweeteners and green bean coffee extract.
Following the smash success of water flavor drops MiO, a Kraft Foods brand, Coca-Cola has also introduced Minute Maid and Vitaminwater Zero drops this year.
But the company hasn’t completely abandoned its namesake beverage: Coca-Cola debuted a 16-ounce, cold-activated can for Coke late last year, another nod to a popular trend in the beverage industry.
Kraft Foods Group
From its humble beginnings operating out of a horse-drawn wagon in 1903, James L. Kraft’s eponymous company has expanded to include 27 brands, 10 of which bring in more than $500 million in annual sales. Although Kraft experienced increased net revenues in the fourth quarter last year, the company is still implementing new product launches and rebrandings to separate itself from competitors like ConAgra Foods. It’s all part of a new innovation strategy where the company has increased its focus on new launches, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Food and beverages advertising a high protein content accounted for 19% of new products worldwide in 2012, according to market research firm Mintel. Responding to this trend, Kraft-branded Oscar Mayer released a new line of portable high-protein snacks this year. Similar to the Kraft-produced Lunchables, but marketed to an older crowd, Oscar Mayer P3 snack packs include up to 14 grams of protein from meats, cheeses, and nuts.
Kraft introduced Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads in 1982, and has withheld from making any significant changes to the recipe—until earlier this year. With a focus on simple ingredients and no artificial flavors, the brand added 12% more vegetables to the garden vegetable variety and 30% more blueberries into that flavor of cream cheese. Along with these new recipes came new branding, with added emphasis on the “No Artificial Flavors” label and a new package design with a ridge preventing the tubs from spinning on shelves.
General Mills Inc.
Founded in 1856, Minneapolis-based General Mills has grown into an international food giant, with a reported $10.6 billion net sales in fiscal 2013. But, as shown above, competitors are investing heavily in new products, and the cereal leader has been doing the same with a New Category Expansion group created in 2012. With plans to launch more than 50 items in the U.S. this year, the company’s blog states that these new products are “poised to meet growing consumer interest in snacks, protein-rich breakfast items, and globally-inspired convenience meals.”
Touching on the first category on the list, General Mills introduced a whole new brand of cheese crisps in March: Frollicks Cheese Crisps. Similar to Kraft’s Oscar Mayer P3 snack packs, the chips come in portable pouches and are advertised for their high protein content and low calorie count.
Further pursuing its expansion objectives, in April General Mills entered a market it has been removed from for more than 20 years: oatmeal. The company introduced the breakfast staple from its Nature Valley brand this year, formulated for the popular Keurig countertop coffee maker. Included in Nature Valley Bistro Cups Oatmeal are pouches of oatmeal and nuts and fruit, and a K-cup flavor capsule to be mixed with the oatmeal when filtered through the machine. This new product is set for success, as oatmeal is a naturally protein-rich food and, despite a growing number of rivals in the market, Keurig still remains a household name in America’s single-cup coffee industry.
All of these new products reflect growing consumer demand for recognizable ingredient lists, protein-rich foods, and smarter snacks. This attentive innovation is just one reason why Coca-Cola, Kraft, and General Mills have been (and perhaps will stay) industry leaders for decades.
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