Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinz is launching a new single-serving spoonable smoothie brand called Fruitlove, which mixes yogurt with three fruits and vegetables in every cup.
- The product is available nationwide for $1.99 each and comes in four flavors: Strawberry Banana Twirl, Harvest Berry Blend, Mango Medley, Pineapple Coconut Bliss and Blueberry Dream.
- Flavors have between 100 and 140 calories each. The spoonable smoothie brand is now available at grocery stores across the country and certain Amazon Fresh locations, according to the release.
Dive Insight:
Smoothie bowls have gained popularity in cafes and on recipe blogger sites, and this may be Kraft Heinz's answer to the growing trend. The company, however, isn't alone.
Dole debuted its own spoonable smoothies in two flavors earlier this spring. Other smoothie innovations have been hitting shelves as well. Nomva, a brand of fruit, vegetable and probiotic smoothies sold in pouches launched in 2016 as an independent smoothie brand. Big companies have been launching into the trend too, Kellogg invested in Bright Greens, which offers frozen smoothie cubes that do not require a blender.
The segment's growth is expected to continue. According to market research firm Technavio, the global smoothie market will grow at a CAGR of nearly 9% until 2021. As a growing segment, this could be an attractive choice for Kraft Heinz, which just weathered a tumultuous quarter where the company wrote down the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands by $15.4 billion, resulting in a $12.6 billion net loss and slashed its dividends more than 36%.
After that news, the company announced CEO Bernardo Hees would be stepping down June 30 and was being replaced by Miguel Patricio, chief of Special Global Projects-Marketing for AB InBev. Patricio told CNBC he will focus on improving Kraft's growth and brand building as well as making the company more consumer focused.
The company's recent investments in smaller companies like Primal Kitchen, which fit into current health and wellness trends, as well as its Springboard incubator program indicate that the 150-year-old company is looking to shift gears. And this smoothie brand seems to fit into those goals.
This smoothie product is unique for Kraft Heinz. Although the company is known for its Kraft Singles and ketchup, it does not do much in the yogurt space, which has seen substantial growth in recent years. It also hasn't offered a lot of products in the juice category. By releasing this product it seems that the company is looking to experiment in new segments as it works to find its focus and drive growth.