A Big Shift In Big Food

It seems big food conglomerates have finally got the message, loud and clear. In order for food manufacturers to remain relevant, they are following consumer’s divergence from highly processed goods. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, Indigestion Hits Top U.S. Food Firms by Annie Gasparro, revealed new insights as to how large food corporations are shifting their business model to be more in line with consumer wants for clean, sustainable, and wholesome foods.There’s a new era of grocery shopping driven by consumer demand for food that does more than feed you. Today’s shopper seeks foods that are functional and full of real ingredients that support a truly healthy lifestyle. This means that companies like Kraft Foods Group Inc. and ConAgra Foods Inc. are struggling to maintain market share, sales, and growth. Instead of throwing in the towel, their shifting their focus to meet consumer wants. Not only are they adding new product extensions but changing up their internal structure to reflect consumer tastes and economic challenges.In the midst of economic strife, large food corporations have had to quickly change the entire scope of their company to stay afloat. They’re bringing in new people, new factory structure, and new foods that are more inline with today’s grocery consumer. The new CEO of Kraft said, “I don’t think Kraft has done as aggressive of a job in this regard as we need to…Kraft needs to improve the quality of its food and make its marketing spending and innovation more effective” while Campbell Soup Co. announced an upcoming line of organic soups.While food manufacturers claim to be making big changes in the next year, will this be enough to maintain large market shares or has the damage already been done?Check out the full article here.