Company to Showcase Food and Beverage Offerings for Health & Wellness, Premium Taste, Quick Meals and Accessible Snacks at 2008 FMI Show
NORTHFIELD, Ill. - May 2, 2008 - Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), a global leader in branded foods and beverages, will highlight more than 80 new products at the 2008 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Show. More focused than ever on growing its iconic brands and making them even more relevant for consumers, Kraft's new offerings span several innovative product platforms, including accessible snacks, quick meals, premium taste experiences, and health and wellness.
At FMI (Booth #1943), May 5-7 in Las Vegas, Kraft will showcase its latest food and beverage innovations that transcend line extensions to include expansions of key product platforms. This year, Kraft is adding exciting new products, including the national introduction of innovative LiveActive probiotic granola bars and the "For One" platform of single-serve premium microwavable pizzas. In addition, Kraft is reinvigorating trusted brands like Kraft Salad Dressings, Ritz Crackers and Oscar Mayer Meats by investing in quality improvements and packaging innovations that deliver meaningful consumer benefits.
"Consumers today want more than just a new offering on store shelves," explains Rick Searer, President, North America, Kraft Foods. "They are demanding products that offer great taste and bold flavor, in convenient options across all meal occasions. This year, Kraft's new products align with key growth areas - snacking, quick meals, premium taste, and health and wellness - and are reinventing the way consumers see and enjoy our iconic brands."
Health and Wellness
Kraft remains committed to providing consumers with a broad range of choices, including better-for-you options. With more than 700 products carrying the company's Sensible Solution flag in North America, these products accounted for approximately 30 percent of total retail sales in the U.S. for 2007. Kraft is expanding its offerings by leveraging key product platforms such as digestive health, Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs and powdered beverage sticks. New better-for-you offerings include:
- LiveActive Cereals, Drink Mixes and Bars - Prebiotics and probiotics move beyond the dairy case to span other categories, including cereals from Post, Crystal Light On The Go drink mixes and chewy granola bars.
- Capri Sun 25% Less Sugar Juice Drink - The kid-pleasing juice drink in the cool foil pouch has become easier for moms to love. Now containing 25 percent less sugar than previous Capri Sun and other leading juice drinks, it has no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup.
- Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs - A pioneer of 100-calorie, portion-controlled snack options, Kraft expands its line of portion controlled treats with Mister Salty Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Honey Maid Delight Bars, as well as Oreo Snack Cakes and Nilla Snack Cakes drizzled with vanilla icing.
- Powdered Beverage Sticks - Building on the soaring popularity of powdered beverage sticks, Kraft is launching new options with added benefits. South Beach Living™ Tide Me Over™ sticks are a nutrient-enhanced drink mix with added protein and fiber for between meals, while two new options from Crystal Light include added vitamins.
- Planters Daybreak Blend Trail Mix and Planters NUT-rition Digestive Health - Perfect for breakfast, grab-and-go Daybreak Blend mixes wholesome granola clusters, sun-ripened dried fruits and expertly roasted Planters nuts, while the Planters NUT-rition variety is specially created with fiber to help promote digestive health.
- South Beach Living™ Products from Kraft - Sixteen new offerings within the South Beach Living™ platform are being unveiled in 2008, including Hot Sandwich Melts, Pizza, Wafer Sticks, Cereal, Granola Clusters, Snack Pack Delights, Pudding Cups, Energy Mix and Chocolate Covered Soynuts.
Premium Taste
Kraft is responding to consumers' appetite for premium taste with these new offerings for 2008:
- DiGiorno Ultimate Focaccia Pizza - For adult consumers seeking sophisticated flavor combinations, DiGiorno Ultimate Focaccia features Italian-style herbs, cheeses and olive oil mixed into a light, airy focaccia crust and then topped with classic Italian offerings in four delicious varieties.
- Kraft Regular and Light Salad Dressings with No Artificial Preservatives - More than 50 salad dressings have been reformulated with no artificial preservatives and contemporary innovative packaging, as well as popular varieties that feature more quality ingredients. Plus three popular Kraft Light Salad Dressings now come in portable on-the-go 1-oz. packets.
- Kraft Natural Cheese Made with 2% Milk - No Added Growth Hormones - For those consumers looking for dairy products made with milk from cows not treated with rbST, Kraft is launching its 2% Milk reduced-fat cheeses with no added growth hormones.
- Kraft Deli Fresh Cheese Slices - Kraft is unveiling a proprietary new "fresh click" package that helps bring the fresh taste of the deli home.
- Oscar Mayer Premium Beef Franks - Featuring even more premium cuts of beef and a more flavorful, unique blend of spices, this is the first change to Oscar Mayer Beef Franks in more than 20 years, just in time for the brand's 125th anniversary.
- Starbucks® Coffees for the Tassimo Hot Beverage System by Bosch - Consumers can now enjoy the rich, full taste of freshly brewed Starbucks® coffee at home, using Starbucks® T DISCs with the Tassimo Hot Beverage System. Featuring Bosch's exclusive and energy efficient flow-through water heater that virtually eliminates pre-heat time and waiting time between uses, the new Tassimo by Bosch quickly delivers drinks, while its sleek, space-saving design makes it a very versatile and convenient hot beverage system.
- Toblerone Tiny Chocolate - The premium taste of Toblerone Swiss chocolate now available in bite-size "Tiny" pieces.
- LU Biscuits - With Kraft's recent acquisition of the Danone biscuit business, consumers across North America can experience and enjoy the premium taste and quality of delicious LU cookies.
Quick & Easy Meals
More so than ever, consumers seem to be pressed for time. When it comes to lunch, 70 percent of consumers work straight through lunch or take less than ten minutes to eat¹. So Kraft is providing consumers with even more great-tasting convenient meal options, including:
- Kraft Bagel-fuls Filled Bagels - Golden bagels and Philadelphia cream cheese are deliciously and conveniently rolled into one. Available in five great-tasting flavors for a wholesome, warm breakfast prepared in less than two minutes.
- DiGiorno and California Pizza Kitchen For One - Consumers, especially one- and two-person households, can enjoy premium-quality pizza in minutes with the "For One" platform. Single-serve, microwavable pizzas deliver the fresh-baked taste of DiGiorno or the bold, unexpected flavor combinations from California Pizza Kitchen.
- Oscar Mayer Deli Creations Flatbread Sandwiches - The convenient and great-tasting Deli Creations line now offers a flatbread sandwich option in five varieties, complete with high-quality Oscar Mayer deli meats and Kraft natural cheeses.
- Kraft Easy Mac Cups-Easy Italia - Building on the success of Easy Mac Cups and tapping into consumers' interest in ethnic foods, new Easy Italia Cups feature Italian-flavored pasta in three delicious varieties for a quick meal or convenient, satisfying snack.
Accessible Snacking
Whether sweet or savory, something to enjoy at work or to take on-the-go, Kraft continues to expand its snacks portfolio with innovative new offerings, including:
- Nilla Cakesters Soft Snack Cakes - Building on the momentum of Oreo Cakesters, Kraft is expanding its snack cakes portfolio with a delicious Nilla variety.
- Oscar Mayer Mini Hot Dogs - The same great taste of Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs in a fun snack size, Mini Hot Dogs in beef and cheese varieties are perfect for an after-school snack with the goodness of protein and ready in under a minute.
- Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Singles - For one- and two-person households or those seeking a quick protein snack, these individual portions of shaved meats in a double pack are perfect selections.
- Planters Kettle Roasted Peanuts - Planters is bringing innovation to the snack aisle with its extra crunchy peanuts in delicious flavors from Classic Salt to Honey BBQ to Ranch.
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Crackers - Now enjoy the cheesy taste of beloved Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in crunchy, crispy crackers in three great varieties.
- Jell-O Pudding Singles - For the first time, a perfect portion of pudding for one is available thanks to these convenient instant pudding sticks. Select from four varieties, add milk, stir and enjoy a quick snack.
- Ritz Crackers Fresh Stacks - Thanks to breakthrough, easy-dispensing packaging, Ritz lovers can now enjoy smaller packages of their favorite cracker at home or on-the go with the ease of a new "pantry pack" - similar to a beverage can dispensing package for the fridge.
¹ Impulse Research Corporation, a full-service market research firm headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, conducted online surveys. Results were collected from a random sample of 1,030 men and women, 18 and over, representing a cross-section of the United States. All participants are members of the CyberPulseTM Advisory Panel. All online surveys were conducted in March 2007.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Laurie Guzzinati
Mary Anne McAndrew
Kraft Foods
847.646.4538 or cec@kraft.com
About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with 2007 revenues of more than $37 billion. For more than 100 years, Kraft has offered consumers delicious and wholesome foods that fit the way they live. Kraft markets a broad portfolio of iconic brands in more than 150 countries, including nine brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion: Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats; Philadelphia cream cheese; Maxwell House coffee; Nabisco cookies and crackers and its Oreo brand; Jacobs coffees, Milka chocolates and LU biscuits. Kraft is a fully independent company and is listed in the Standard & Poor's 100 and 500 indexes. The company is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.kraft.com.