Kraft Heinz Is Moving At The Speed Of Consumer Culture

A bottle of ranch dressing may seem like an unlikely cultural symbol.

During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, however, international visitors began posting about their newfound enthusiasm for the distinctly American condiment.

Some even wondered how they could carry bottles home without running afoul of airport security rules.

Kraft quickly joined the conversation, posting an image of proposed “TSA Compliant Ranch” packets and teasing that it was working on the real product. The activation was not part of a year-long World Cup sponsorship strategy. It was a response to something consumers were already discussing.

For Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer for North America at Kraft Heinz, that distinction is important. The company did not attempt to manufacture a cultural moment around ranch. It listened, recognized that one of its products had a credible role to play and reacted quickly.

“It’s not just about marketing around culture, it’s marketing within it,” Kaplan said in a recent interview.

Brand Awareness Is Only The Starting Point

Kraft Heinz has 70 brands in North America, some of which have existed for more than a century. Kaplan says the portfolio reaches 96% of North American households.

MORE FOR YOU

That awareness is a considerable asset, but it does not guarantee relevance, preference or loyalty. Consumers may instantly recognize an iconic brand without feeling strongly about it—particularly when competing products offer similar functional benefits.

“The real power of a brand lies in its emotional connection to the consumer,” Kaplan said. “People tattoo brands on their bodies, not products.”

For legacy consumer brands, the challenge is to transform familiarity into affection. Kraft Heinz is attempting to do that by moving its brands closer to experiences people already care deeply about, including sports, entertainment, family rituals and shared meals.

The strategy also reflects a changing media environment. Brands can still buy impressions, but paid reach alone is less likely to generate cultural relevance. Consumers have more control over the content they see and more opportunities to ignore traditional advertising.

Kaplan believes brands must add something to the experience rather than simply interrupt it.

“It’s not just about being recognized,” he said. “It’s about being remembered, being loved and being liked.”

Ranch Dressing Becomes A World Cup Souvenir

The World Cup ranch phenomenon illustrates how emotional connections can emerge unexpectedly.

International fans visiting the United States began sharing their enthusiasm for ranch on social media. Some wanted to take bottles home, only to encounter the Transportation Security Administration’s limit on liquids in carry-on luggage. The TSA eventually joined the conversation and reminded travelers that containers larger than 3.4 ounces generally belonged in checked bags.

The interest became significant enough that airport stores began stocking ranch beyond security checkpoints. Kraft responded by teasing travel-friendly ranch packets on social media, describing them as a souvenir for visitors who had discovered “America’s favorite dressing.” ABC News documented the international fan interest and TSA response, while People reported on Kraft’s proposed TSA-friendly packets.

The lesson is bigger than ranch. A product can become a gateway to a culture, a trip or a memory. For visiting soccer fans, ranch was no longer simply a salad dressing. It became part of their American World Cup experience.

Kraft’s opportunity came from recognizing the emotional context surrounding the product and responding before the conversation moved on.

According to Jed Hallam, Managing Director CultureLab, "There are two crucial parts to this activation that gave it its impact; they were prepared and understood how to move quickly from insight, to product, to distribution, to marketing. But most importantly, they knew that cultural relevance isn’t something that’s imposed ‘brand’ first, but something that’s built from understanding culture and communities of people - and then finding a way for your brand or product to be additive to that community.”

Moving At The Speed Of Culture

Kraft Heinz had initially expected to sit out the World Cup, according to Kaplan. Instead, the company launched several rapid-response ideas tied to conversations that emerged during the tournament.

In addition to ranch, Heinz created oversized red ketchup and yellow mustard “Penalty Packets,” borrowing the visual language of soccer’s penalty cards. The packets contained twice as much condiment as conventional packets and invited fans to call a foul on bland food.

The company also responded when tournament rules resulted in Heinz labels being obscured inside stadiums because the brand was not an official sponsor. Rather than fight the blackout, Heinz Canada leaned into it by presenting itself as the “unofficial stadium ketchup.”

These ideas worked because they were connected to the brand and the product. Had Kraft Heinz inserted itself into every viral World Cup discussion, the effort could have appeared forced.

“Knowing your brand, when to go, when to sit things out and knowing when to say no is important,” Kaplan said.

Real-time marketing requires more than speed. It requires judgment. A fast response that lacks a credible connection to the conversation may generate attention but weaken the brand’s identity.

Building Longer-Term Emotional Platforms

Cultural activations are only one part of the strategy. Kraft Heinz is also pursuing longer-term partnerships with the NFL and Disney.

The company’s five-year NFL agreement makes Kraft Heinz the league’s first official condiment partner. Food already plays a natural role in football through tailgates, stadium concessions and at-home viewing. That allows the brands to participate in an existing ritual rather than bolt an unrelated message onto the sport.

Disney provides another multigenerational platform. The partnership can extend across theme parks, cruises, hotels, media properties and intellectual property from Pixar and Marvel to ESPN and ABC.

Many consumers grew up watching Disney while eating Kraft Mac & Cheese or seeing Heinz ketchup on the family table. Bringing the companies together gives Kraft Heinz an opportunity to refresh those childhood associations for another generation.

The common thread between the World Cup reactions and the larger partnerships is shared experience. One approach is spontaneous; the other is designed to create continuity over years. Both seek to connect food brands to moments that already carry emotional meaning.

Every Experience Adds Another Dot

Kaplan compares brand building to pointillism, the artistic technique in which individual dots ultimately form a larger image.

“Every time your brand does something, you’re putting a dot in a consumer’s brain,” he said. “Over time, those dots cluster together to form a perception.”

A funny ranch post is one dot. A World Cup memory is another. So are a family trip to Disney, a football tailgate and a familiar product on the dinner table.

No single activation creates durable loyalty. The cumulative effect of consistent, relevant experiences is what can move a consumer from awareness to preference and eventually advocacy.

That is particularly important for mature brands. Their future will not be secured by familiarity alone. It will depend on whether they can keep earning a meaningful place in consumers’ lives—even when that opportunity begins with visiting soccer fans trying to take ranch dressing through airport security.

Click here to read article