Your Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Hack Could Earn You $10,000 from Kraft

In an effort to adapt to the changing preferences of its fan base, Kraft is asking consumers to submit their best mac and cheese ideas. Kraft aims to celebrate the creativity of mac and cheese lovers by encouraging them to imagine a new flavor of their classic boxed mac and cheese, and that could include vegan options.

Participants are invited to share their innovative tips for creating rich and flavorful mac and cheese. Whether it’s using dairy-free cheeses, unique spice blends, or unconventional toppings, Kraft is eager to explore the endless possibilities in the realm of mac and cheese.

You don’t need to create a full recipe or explain how to prepare it; just go to the Kraft website and submit the flavor idea.

The competition, which runs through December 15, gives vegans across the country the opportunity to talk to Kraft about the growing demand for vegan alternatives and the various ways people are personalizing their plant-based comfort foods.

Kraft-Heinz

The vegan mac and cheese category is growing, and Kraft has yet to recognize and celebrate the ingenuity of those who choose a plant-based lifestyle. So far, the company only offers a vegan version of its classic boxed Mac & Cheese in Australia, launching in 2021.

However, currently the dairy-free version of Kraft Mac & Cheese is not available in any other market.

To enter the competition, participants are encouraged to submit their best mac and cheese flavor idea for a chance to win one of two $10,000 cash prizes.

Vegan yak attack

Kraft invites everyone to share their unique take on mac and cheese and emphasizes that in the world of comfort food, there are no limits to the imagination. The competition is not limited to traditional recipes, and the vegan category opens the door to exciting new possibilities in the world of plant-based comfort foods.

What is vegan at Kraft Heinz?

Much like its iconic boxed Mac & Cheese, half of Kraft Heinz’s roots lie in cheese, and its current portfolio also includes meat giant Oscar Mayer and gelatin dessert brand Jell-O.

Although its adoption is slow compared to other conglomerates, Kraft Heinz is not a complete stranger to the vegan food industry.

According to market research, by 2030, the entire plant-based food market is expected to exceed $65 billion. The industry is partly driven by vegans, but it’s mostly flexitarians who are driving this growth. According to one study, more than half of young Americans now describe themselves as flexitarians, which essentially means they are reducing their consumption of animal products.

The Kraft Heinz Company Not

Notably, among its vegan products and partnerships is an entirely separate company, called Kraft Heinz Not Company. Last year, Kraft Heinz signed a partnership with NotCo, a Chilean unicorn plant-based food technology company, which makes vegan milk, chicken and burgers.

With this partnership, the company has agreed to support the brand’s mission to provide the world with sustainable, innovative and, above all, animal-free products.

The Kraft Heinz Not Company aims to leverage all of NotCo’s food technology, as well as Kraft Heinz’s experience and expertise in the food industry. According to Miguel Patricio, CEO of Kraft Heinz, the partnership was “a crucial step” in transforming its product portfolio.

“This is a tremendous addition to our brand value creation capabilities,” Patricio said in a statement. “This helps us realize our vision of bringing cleaner, greener and delicious products to consumers. We believe the technology brought by NotCo revolutionizes the creation of delicious plant-based foods with simpler ingredients.

Kraft Heinz Vegan Cheese

In September 2022, Kraft Heinz and NotCo announced the first products resulting from their partnership. Both go back to the original roots of Kraft Heinz dairy and condiments: vegan cheese and vegan mayonnaise.

Recently, Kraft Heinz Not Company’s vegan cheese products were rolled out to store shelves nationwide following a trial in select supermarkets.

The Kraft Heinz Company Not

Katie Pekarek, marketing and strategy manager for Kraft Heinz Not Company, says the vegan cheese slices performed very well during the trial, which prompted the company’s decision to launch them nationally .

According to Pekarek, within eight weeks, repeat purchases of vegan cheeses were at 20 percent, and a majority of shoppers surveyed (91 percent) provided overwhelmingly positive reviews for NotCheese slices.

“The decision to expand nationally was based on the success of our test market in Cleveland which lasted for 16 weeks starting in November 2022,” Pekarek previously told VegNews. “Kraft NotCheese slices have quickly become the #1 branded plant-based slice in dollar sales. »