Kraft Mac & Cheese Doesn’t Need to Feed Our Protein Obsession

Kraft Heinz’s declining dominance in the mac and cheese industry has been blamed on cost-cutting and bad management decisions. But the company’s biggest challenge is that the rules of indulgence have changed. Comfort food, and increasingly all foods, are expected to do double duty.

Many Americans are no longer content with only eating a bowl of gooey noodle goodness. They want that bowl to come packed with health benefits: more protein, fewer artificial dyes, and an ingredient list that signals they are doing something good for their bodies. It’s unsurprising, then, that — as the Wall Street Journal recently reported — competitors such as Goodles are gaining market share as Kraft loses it.

James Kraft, the founder of Kraft Foods, couldn’t have foreseen a day like this. He had a knack for turning cheap, processed foods into wildly popular pantry staples like Velveeta and Miracle Whip. But it was the “Kraft Dinner,” now known as Kraft Mac & Cheese, that proved his most enduring contribution to the American dinner table.