JUNK'D: Mac & Cheese

JUNK'D: What's for dinner? Kraft launched boxed mac & cheese in 1937 to offer affordable 'prepper pantry' family friendly comfort food to Americans during the Great Depression. The first box was 19 cents and sold 8m boxes in the first year. Source: Smithsonian.

I wrote this by hand based on 7+ years of independent research about what's new & next in CPG and the history of food & beverages. If my content is helpful or inspiring, consider sharing it or crediting me as a source. Let's share notes ✌️

MINI MARKET MAP
2023 - Travis Kelce's Kitchen, Kraft x NotCo Mac
2022 - GrownAs* Foods
2021 - Camp, Goodles
2018 - Bitsy's
2017 - Funny Farm Foods, Freak Flag Organics
2016 - KidFresh, Wicked Kitchen, Perfect Keto
2015 - MYLES
2014 - Banza
2009 - Red's All Natural
2008 - Daiya, Good Life
2006 - Upton's Naturals
2002 - Evol Foods
1994 - Pastabilities
1989 - Annie's
1987 - Amy's (reigning Queen of the freezer aisle and still indie!)
1970 - Blake's All Natural

FRIENDS & INSIGHTS
Where it all vegan: Amy's, Annie's, Daiya, Upton's, Pastabilities, Camp, and Banza all offer dairy free options. This was the first wave of BFY mac.

Respect your elders: Kraft, Annie's, and Amy's are still the most popular brands in this category, spanning multiple generations of mac & cheese lovers. What can we learn from their uncanny ability to stay on the shelf?

Keeping up with the Korporations: Today Kraft x NotCo officially announced their collaborative plant based product - thank you for inspiring this post! Did anyone try their ice cream collab with Van Leeuwen?

Screen queens go CPG: Gal Gadot (Goodles) and Gabrielle Union (Bitsy's) are the faces of their respective companies. Both actresses resonate with all ages and genders with a family friendly vibe baked into their branding.

New Americana: Myles, KidFresh, Perfect Keto, Evol, and new brand Travis Kelce's Kitchen offer flavors with added bacon, chicken or beef for extra protein for growing athletes.

Grown up flavors: Grown As* Mac, Goodles, and Wicked Kitchen brought us adult flavors like truffle, cacio e pepe, and spicy smokey dreamy.

Take you higher protein: General Mills created Annie's Super! Mac this summer (15g protein, 6g fiber), seemingly in response to the success of Goodles, Banza, Bitsy's, Perfect Keto, and Red's? See also: Muscle Mac.

Eat your greens: Goodles, Freak Flag Organics, and Camp sneak veggies into their pasta to JUNK'D picky eaters into eating kale and broccoli.

Young, wild, and GF: Banza, Camp, and EVOL Foods all offer macaroni free of gluten.

Hero ingredients: No, not Wonder Woman. Think chickpeas, peas, rice, and oats.

AN ACQUIRED TASTE
2022 - Red's All Natural was acquired by Bansk Group
2021 - Camp was acquired by Creatd
2017 - Daiya was acquired by Otsuka Holdings
2014 - Annie's was acquired by General Mills for $820m
2015 - Blake's All Natural was acquired by ConAgra
2013 - Evol sold to Boulder Brands, then Boulder Brands was acquired by ConAgra in 2018 where Evol lives on