Kraft Heinz Co reported fourth-quarter sales that were boosted by higher product prices as well as strong demand for its packaged foods and condiments following the pandemic.
Packaged food makers have been bouncing the prices of their products to contend with surging costs of everything from shipping and labour to raw materials such as wheat, meat, and edible oils.
The Chicago-based company has benefited significantly from robust demand for its snacks and other consumables during the pandemic, before which it struggled with weak sales and wrote down the value of several brands by billions of dollars over the past few years.
Kraft, whose brands include Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Heinz Ketchup, said it pushed prices 3.8 percentage points higher in the reported quarter.
The reopening of restaurants and colleges after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions also helped boost Kraft’s foodservice business back to pre-pandemic levels, the company said.
Kraft also said it expects full-year organic sales to grow by a low-single-digit percentage, compared with a 1.8% rise in 2021.
A year earlier, net sales fell to $6.71 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 25, from $6.94 billion, owing to an impact from acquisitions and divestitures.