Macaroni and cheese is one of those great meals/side dishes that has been around for centuries. Seriously. There are several recipes for it attributed directly to Thomas Jefferson. And two of the biggest names in mac and cheese—Stouffer’s and Kraft Heinz (KHC)—are fighting it out once more as Stouffer’s brings out a new recipe. The news left Kraft Heinz on the back foot, largely flat in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Stouffer’s rolled out a new version of mac and cheese, which is likely a smart move. The average American eats the stuff 22 times a year and reports from 2023 call boxed mac and cheese—called “Kraft Dinner” in Canada, or more often, just “KD”—the most popular grocery item in the country.
The new version is known as “Stouffer’s Supreme,” and it aims to provide “…a rich, supremely cheesy taste.” There will be two versions: one will offer a standard cheddar taste, while the other will go whole hog with its cheese, offering cheddar, gouda, and parmesan. Stouffer’s calls the cheddar-only version a “sibling, not identical twin,” of the original, while the three-cheese blend is more of a “cousin,” giving you some idea of what you will face when selecting your favorite.
Kraft Heinz Goes for a Record
But, rather than lose out on that business, Kraft Heinz is not taking the move lying down. In fact, it launched a whole new offensive, but not in the mac and cheese market. No, Kraft Heinz instead focused on another product: cream cheese. To that end, it is out to set a new record at the Cream Cheese Festival in Lowville, New York.
Kraft Heinz is out to take back the title of World’s Largest Cheesecake, which has been held by a Russian company since 2017. Now, Kraft Heinz wants that record back thanks to a 15,000-pound cheesecake comprised of 870 pounds of graham cracker crumbs, 300 pounds of sugar, and 13,500 pounds of cheesecake filling. The end result will be 11.5 feet across, with the old record holder just a hair over nine feet.
Is Kraft Heinz a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on KHC stock based on six Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.5% rally in its share price over the past year, the average KHC price target of $37.50 per share implies 5.37% upside potential.
