The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

And then finally, on Away From Home, like we don’t need to be fully on algo to deliver our numbers in the second half, and that’s not what we’re contemplating. So we don’t expect Away From Home to be fully back on algo. Even though on the international side, we should be back there in the U.S. where we think the dynamics of the industry is what give us a pause. We do expect improvement and a gradual improvement on the industry plus the business risk. But I mean, I think we’re still a bit on a pause to see how much of the industry will recover. But again, we don’t need to be fully on algo in the U.S. Away From Home to deliver our guidance for the second half.

Carlos Abrams-Rivera: And then just going deeper on the Oscar Mayer and beverage question, David. But I would say, if you go back to our CAGNY presentation, those are businesses that are in two different portfolio roles within our company. So our beverage business is within our PROTECT business, in which we actually are allocating resources in order to protect the profitability through the renovation across those brands to drive the growth. So if you think about some of the key brands there, you see that our MiO liquid concentrate in which we actually just renovated our entire kind of design or product. We have a new campaign, a marketing campaign focused on the wellness of the brand can offer. If you think about Crystal Light, we just debuted our first major innovation in 10 years, and we’re launching a number of new and exciting functional benefits.

If you think – and then for us is how do we continue to drive that sense of focus on renovating on those particular products because we know they are differentiated, and we think they are well positioned for the long-term. In the Oscar Mayer part of our BALANCE business, which, again, we are making sure we’re making the right investments in order to protect our distribution. And at the same time, we also are being thoughtful about how we are going to manage a business that are very exposed to the commodity side of things. So we are being also thoughtful of making sure we are protecting the topline, while at the same time, making sure we have the right gross margins management in order for us to make it work within the entire Kraft Heinz portfolio.

Andre Maciel: The other thing I’ll add on the BALANCE portfolio as a whole, you saw in prepared remarks that overall, the BALANCE declined 4% in the quarter, but the gross profit dollars grew 5%. So as we have said before, we continue to – it’s a balancing act, and we continue to make sure that we don’t starve those brands of the core investments to sustain their business. But you should not expect an average growth coming from there.

David Palmer: Great. Thank you.

Anne-Marie Megela: Operator, we have time for one more question.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our last question comes from Robert Moskow with TD Cowen. You may proceed.

Robert Moskow: Hi. Thanks for the question. Andre, I think you might have already answered this, but mathematically, I think the guidance now for Foodservice implies a 50 basis point reduction to the overall company compared to, I think, the high single-digit guidance you had last quarter. So does the rest of the portfolio need to offset that? Is anything – are you expecting anything to be a little better than you expected? Or is it just kind of absorbed? And then secondly, I think the slide said that you’re seeing improvement in retail trends in U.S. Retail, maybe that’s just versus a year ago. But can I assume that despite the market shares being down versus a year ago, do you need to make any big – any adjustments to your marketing plan for 2024? Is there any increased price investment or advertising investment that needs to be made that’s different from what you expected? Thanks.

Carlos Abrams-Rivera: Andre, do you want to start with Away from Home, and I can comment on the retail trends?

Andre Maciel: Yes. So good morning, Rob. First, as you said, the 50 bps that we mentioned in the prepared remarks should be clear, is linkage, the 50 to 100 bps expansion of plant shutdown and is focused on the second quarter. So we do not expect impact from that as we go into the second half. So as we head into the second half, as I said before, we do expect Emerging Markets to be fully back on algo. We do expect the U.S. Retail, North America Retail to continue to improve, like improve in Q1. We expect to improve more in Q2 and then more in the second half, like as a function, again, of lapping SNAP and a lot of contribution from innovation and renovation. And on the Away From Home, we do expect the rest of the world to gradually improve and get close, if not, at algo.

And then the U.S. becomes then the question we don’t need to be at mid-single digit in the second half for us to achieve our guidance. But we do expect a gradual improvement on industry. And I think we are seeing that from different sources as well. I think that there is a general expectation of that together with all the business wins that we have done, and I think that we’re going to be past the situation with the plant as we had in the second half.