In a wide-ranging brand deal unlike anything in recent memory, The Walt Disney Co. and Kraft Heinz have inked a multiyear “strategic alliance” that will span media and experiences, bringing Kraft Heinz brands to Disney’s film and TV content, as well as to the company’s vast theme parks and cruise business.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it will include 10 Kraft Heinz brands, including Heinz (best known for Ketchup, of course), Philadelphia (cream cheese) and Kraft Mac & Cheese getting prime placement within Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim, as well as on Disney cruises departing out of North America.
The experiences element of the deal will also include new menu items, and new condiment stations across the parks. Kraft Heinz will also have a presence at D23 this summer with sauces from the company’s sauce vault.
But it also includes media, where one can imagine Kraft Heinz brands being integrated into Disney feature films or TV shows (think of the role Mercedes-Benz played in Devil Wears Prada 2 for example), or as part of event coverage, such as next year’s Super Bowl on ESPN (where ad space is at a premium, as it always is).
“From going to the movies and watching a TV show to going to a theme park, it’s all about bringing people together around these shared passion points and fandom for some of these properties that I know Disney has across their vast portfolio, and it’s also what our 100-year-old plus brands have also already done,” says Todd Kaplan, the CMO of Kraft Heinz North America, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It allows us to show up in these mealtime moments that matter most to consumers when they’re having these shared experiences, whether it’s at a park, on a cruise ship, at a hotel or resort in fully integrated ways to meet fans where they are, and sometimes those things are even at home when you’re watching.”
