Kraft Heinz Invests In Consumer Insights With Kraft-O-Matic Data Platform

The next step in The Kraft Heinz Company’s turnaround strategy includes deeper investment in its consumer insights capabilities, including with a new data platform known as Kraft-O-Matic.

The No. 21 consumer goods company has teamed with Google Cloud for a multi-year strategic partnership it expects to improve consumer understanding and personalization. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will drive real-time data insights that Kraft Heinz will use to inform new food flavors, formulations, and products — with the Kraft-O-Matic data platform supplying information to fuel innovation, product development, and business operations.

The company will also leverage Google’s data and analytics technologies and Google Ads to elevate its e-commerce marketing strategy and advance its digital transformation. In addition to Kraft-O-Matic, it will leverage Google’s first-party data warehousing to personalize consumer experiences and customer service.

[See also: Kraft Heinz’s International Expansion]

Increasing its ability to understand consumer preferences are also expected to simultaneously increase speed to market.

The food company will furthermore extend its relationship with Google to improve media activations and efficiency as consumer privacy concerns and regulations mount.  Kraft Heinz said Google Ads significantly increased view rates and reduced CPMs vs. the prior-year period, enabling a deeper understanding of the consumer journey and to develop more relevant messaging. This includes from owned, earned, and paid properties, as well as for in-store retail.

Kraft Heinz first announced its broad transformation plan in 2020 and has been steadily plugging away with such changes as combining its U.S. and Canada businesses and appointing its first chief strategy and transformation officer.

As part of this strategy, the company is building a proprietary tech ecosystem using in-house tools to help synthesize data across the enterprise to bolster its personalization, as well as implementing Agile methodologies and digital solutions across operations.

[See also: Kraft Heinz Reinforces Emerging Markets Growth]

In reporting its fourth-quarter earnings this week, Carlos Abrams-Rivera, president, North America, said the company has made progress in strengthening its retail partnerships, with both retail consumption and sales surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

The company also touted its improved results in leveraging insights and shopper-based research, as well as successfully increasing perfect store merchandising efforts in the United States.

“The creation of centralized customer development and revenue management team has been a big part of this,” Abrams-Rivera noted, “and the feedback from our retail partners is encouraging.”

Sanjiv Gajiwala, chief growth officer, North America, said in a statement the Google partnership will help consumers connect with its brands through a new level of personalized offers and interactions, as well as enable Kraft Heinz to fast-track its innovation agenda through trending food conversations, shopping behaviors, and consumer demands.

“This is the future of food,” Gajiwala noted.