Kraft Heinz bets on marketing, pouring another $100m into its turnaround
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Kraft Heinz is adding roughly $100 million to its marketing budget — lifting spend to about 6% of net sales — betting that bigger, fewer, higher-impact campaigns can pull the $6.3bn-a-quarter giant back to growth.
A $100m vote of confidence in marketing
On its Q2 2026 earnings call, Kraft Heinz said it will pour roughly $100 million more into marketing this year, taking marketing to about 6% of net sales — up half a percentage point, and part of a broader 37% lift in marketing investment as its turnaround takes shape.
The backdrop is tough. Q2 net sales fell 1.4% to $6.3 billion and North America dropped 2.7%, yet management raised its full-year organic sales outlook and pointed to condiments and Heinz returning to growth as evidence the extra spend is working.
Why spend more when sales are soft?
Counter-intuitively, Kraft Heinz is leaning into marketing precisely because sales are soft. The logic — well supported by effectiveness research — is that share of voice bought in a downturn converts into share of market once the cycle turns.
Our read: the '6% of net sales' figure is the number to watch. For a legacy food business, nudging marketing intensity up half a point is a meaningful reallocation, and it signals that management sees brand-building — not just price and promotion — as the way out.
Fewer, bigger bets
The most instructive part isn't the extra money — it's how it's being spent. Kraft Heinz is concentrating on fewer, higher-impact platforms, including a five-year NFL sponsorship and a wide-ranging Disney partnership, plus flagship ideas like Heinz's 'It Has to be Heinz' and Philadelphia's 'Really Philly Good'.
That mirrors a wider 2026 shift: brands trimming the long tail of low-impact activity to fund a handful of properties big enough to cut through. Concentration, not confetti, is the strategy.
What smaller brands should take from it
You can copy the principle without the budget. Pick one or two channels or partnerships you can genuinely own, and put real weight behind them, rather than spreading a small budget thinly across everything.
And hold your nerve in a soft market. Cutting brand spend when sales dip feels safe but usually cedes ground to competitors willing to keep investing — exactly the gap Kraft Heinz is trying to open.
Quick FAQ
How much is Kraft Heinz increasing marketing spend?
The company said it will add roughly $100 million more to marketing in 2026, lifting marketing to about 6% of net sales — part of a broader 37% increase in marketing investment.
How did Kraft Heinz perform in Q2 2026?
Q2 2026 net sales fell 1.4% to $6.3 billion, with North America down 2.7%, even as the company raised its full-year organic sales outlook.
Where is the extra money going?
Into fewer, higher-impact platforms — including a five-year NFL sponsorship and a Disney partnership — and flagship brand campaigns for Heinz and Philadelphia.
— Alicia Morris, Creative & Campaigns Writer at Marketing Minute
Kraft Heinz is spending more on fewer, bigger bets — the clearest sign yet that legacy brands see brand-building, not just price, as the route back to growth.
In a soft market, are you cutting brand spend to feel safe — or investing to take share?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Marketing Dive; Food Dive; FoodNavigator; Kraft Heinz Q2 2026 results.
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Written by Alicia Morris, Creative & Campaigns Writer at Marketing Minute
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