Kraft announced a name change and a new look for its macaroni and cheese. Photo: Kraft Heinz
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is getting a rebrand with a new blue box and a shorter name, "Kraft Mac & Cheese."
Driving the news: The 85-year-old brand revealed a new look Wednesday for its comfort food, which still includes a noodle smile but now it's "even more delicious and dripping with creamy, cheesy goodness," parent company Kraft Heinz said in a news release.
Meanwhile, dozens of Kraft's pasta products have been hit with price hikes recently because of rising costs of ingredients, labor and transportation, CNN reported.
- CNN said there was a 20% hike for a 7.25-ounce dish of Kraft Big Bowl Macaroni and Cheese and a 3.5% increase on a pack of EZ Mac.
What they're saying: Kraft said the change from “macaroni and cheese” to “mac & cheese” is meant to reflect the way fans organically talk about the brand.
- “We know that people aren’t turning to comfort food as a guilty pleasure, they are positively embracing comfort, saying yes to feeling good, saying yes to caring for themselves,” Victoria Lee, Kraft Mac & Cheese brand manager, said in a statement.
- “There is a familiar, crave-able, positive comfort to Kraft Mac & Cheese that makes it so special and iconic to millions of people across the world and our new look is a reflection of what our brand means to our consumers,” Lee said.
Between the lines: Brand rebrands aren't new and Kellogg announced Tuesday it would split itself into three independent companies, Axios' Ivana Saric reported.
What's next: Kraft's new packaging will start to hit store shelves in August.
- The updated look will start to appear across the brand's social channels and website this summer.
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