Costly ketchup: As sales decline, Kraft Heinz turns to price hikes to boost profits

North America, its largest market, saw volumes fall 3.4% last quarter

- BY JUSTIN VARGHESE

If you've noticed your grocery bill creeping up again — especially for pantry staples like Heinz ketchup and baked beans you’re not imagining it. Kraft Heinz, the food giant behind some of the world’s most familiar comfort foods, has been quietly hiking prices.

And the company just confirmed it’s doing so more than analysts expected.

While many consumers were hoping for some price relief as global inflation cools, Kraft Heinz is leaning on price hikes to keep its bottom line healthy — even as fewer people are buying their products.

Pay more, get less?

In its latest earnings report, Kraft Heinz revealed that its second-quarter sales dipped 2 per cent, but still managed to beat Wall Street expectations. How? The company raised prices by 0.7 percentage points, more than seven times what analysts had forecast.