Kraft Foods Group KRFT recently announced that beginning Jan 2016, the original flavor of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner in the U.S will no longer contain artificial preservatives or synthetic colors. Meanwhile Kraft Dinner products in Canada will also tread the same path from the end of 2016.
The synthetic colors will be replaced by natural ingredients such as paprika, annatto and turmeric. These changes are made to cater to the increasing demand for healthier packaged food, with simpler ingredients and better nutrition.
The original flavor of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner already contains 9 grams of protein and adequate calcium. Further, deleting artificial preservatives or synthetic colors from its list of ingredients and adding the goodness of real ingredients such as paprika, annatto and turmeric should make it more appealing to health conscious consumers.
Earlier this year, the company launched Kraft Mac & Cheese Boxed Shapes in the U.S, with no artificial preservatives, artificial flavors or colors.
During 2014, the company offered Kraft Mac & Cheese Boxed Shapes, which contains 6 grams of whole grains per serving, lower saturated fat and 100mg of less sodium per serving and no synthetic colors.
With increasing concern about the nutritional value of packaged food products, most food companies are working to improve this aspect. These include General Mills Inc. GIS, The Hershey Company HSY and Mondelez International, Inc. MDLZ. All the companies introduced new products with better health benefits.
In Feb 2015, Hershey announced plans to use simpler ingredients like locally produced milk, roasted California almonds, cocoa beans and sugar in its products. Also, this year, Hershey plans to introduce new items in the U.S. like Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bars, which will feature simple ingredients.
Kraft Foods Group carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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