A Portrait of Kraft Foods

A Portrait of Kraft Foods: How the Company Is Focused On Innovation and Value for Their Customers

By

Joseph D. White

Capella University

DB8004 Strategic Thinking and Innovation

Dr. James Morgan

A Portrait of Kraft Foods: How the Company Is Focused On Innovation and Value for Their Customers

Kraft Foods, Inc. is undergoing a remarkable transformation. In early 2010, Kraft Foods took over Cadbury promising better sales of its gum product line. The CEO Irene Rosenfeld insisted that the payoff of the Cadbury purchase would be more than worthwhile, besides the fact that William Buffet voted against the measure (MacArthur, 2011). But, Kraft seems to be making more profits than before, and it shows. Kraft foods boast revenues of over $40 billion and the company has a global presence in over 150 countries (Tullo & Moens, 2009). The company has many innovative behaviors, including value innovative and disruptive innovative strategies, of which this paper will document.

Disruptive innovation, in a nutshell, is the theory of creating innovations so attractive and rewarding for both the customers and the company. In effect, the innovation literally creates a disruption of the industry in the marketplace. So, the theory is, a new technology will eventually replace the existing technology. Examples of disruptive technologies include the personal computer replacing the word processor, digital photography replacing chemical photography, mobile phone and VOIP telephony technology replacing landline phones, and so forth (Christensen, 2003).

Kraft has taken advantage of the iPhone market and has produced its very own Apple application called iFood assistant. The mobile application permits consumers to input ingredients purchased at the local supermarket and instantly offers meal planning and recipe advice. This application is developed to assist Kraft customers with their busy lifestyles (Kaczmarek, 2009).

The application recently has been through a major...