Skip to content

Subscriber Only

Deals

As Old-Guard Food Companies Stumble, Milk, Sugar and Cheese Take Hits

Kraft misses on profit, while Dean Foods contemplates a sale
Prices falling for food that dominated dinners for decades

Beef to Tomato Send July 4 Food Cost to Record — Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

By

Deena Shanker, and

March 1, 2019, 11:00 AM UTC

With many old-guard food companies teetering on the edge of profitability, 2019 is shaping up as pivotal year for foods that dominated dinner tables for decades.

Last week, Kraft Heinz Co., the owner of Jell-O and Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile, lost $16 billion in market value after reporting a writedown that reduced the value of some big-name trademarks. Dean Foods Co.’s announcement it is contemplating a sale had some analysts doubting if the top milk company would lure any buyers for its shrinking business.