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Why Europe's €1.5trn food industry is more powerful than you think
After 150 years of Heinz ketchup, the brand’s European president reveals the secret behind its enduring appeal and how it keeps generations of customers coming back.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/11/16/why-europes-15trn-food-industry-is-more-powerful-than-you-think
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After 150 years of Heinz ketchup, the brand’s European president reveals the secret behind its enduring appeal and how it keeps generations of customers coming back.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/11/16/why-europes-15trn-food-industry-is-more-powerful-than-you-think
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00This is where the trends are set, $26 billion companies.
00:03It's bigger than automotive, it's bigger than chemicals, and I'm obsessed with talent.
00:13Welcome to The Big Question, a series from Euronews where we speak to some of the biggest
00:19names in business.
00:20And today is no different.
00:22I'm joined by the president of Kraft Heinz, Willem Brandt.
00:26It's a pleasure to have you on the show.
00:28Thank you for joining us today.
00:29Thank you for having me, Angela.
00:30Pleasure to be here.
00:31Now, Kraft Heinz is indeed a very recognisable global food manufacturer, but can you just
00:38give us a sense of the scale of the business in 2026?
00:42Yes.
00:42Across the world, you're talking about a $26 billion company.
00:45So we're one of the largest food companies in the world.
00:48In Europe, we're around $2.5 billion, which is still very, very sizable as well.
00:53And Europe and the Pacific, which is kind of the part that I run, is $3.7 billion business.
00:59That's net sales.
01:06And from your wind-raging perspective, Willem, what trends would you say are shaping the food
01:10industry right now?
01:11Listen, if I look at Europe, I would say, first of all, food really matters here, and
01:17Europe matters to food.
01:18Let me unpack that a little bit.
01:19If you look at the whole European and geopolitical situation, what's going on right now, you see
01:25that policymakers here really care about security, and they really care a lot about competitiveness.
01:33And food sits right at the heart of both of those things in Europe, if you ask me.
01:37Because ultimately, we've got a very good and strong value chain with farmers and industry
01:43and retailers, but we've got to keep it that way to make sure that we keep the food on our
01:46plates going forward as well.
01:49It's unclear who actually said it, but it was either Trotsky or Lenin who said, you're only
01:53ever three missed meals away from a revolution.
01:57Now, at the same time, on the competitiveness side, and I think that that's actually the more
02:01interesting thing and the not so much known fact, it's the biggest manufacturing industry
02:06that we have in Europe.
02:081.5 trillion dollars of sales and 5 million, close to 5 million people who work in it.
02:16It's bigger than automotive, it's bigger than chemicals, so it's a very well-kept secret.
02:21But we're really good at food as a European Union.
02:24We export 190 billion dollars, and we have a trade surplus of more than 80 billion dollars
02:31as a food manufacturing industry.
02:33Now, at the same time, Europe really matters to food as well, because this is where the
02:38trends are set.
02:39Whether it's on regulation or ingredient provenance or culinary expertise, this is where the bar
02:46gets set for the world to follow.
02:48Focusing on Europe, it is, of course, a diverse culinary landscape.
02:52And you said that it's a real trendsetter.
02:55Can you just share some examples of what's playing out here?
03:00Yeah, so one of the biggest areas of growth for us is, as I said, where we bring something
03:06that's really delicious and that meets the health requirements that consumers have.
03:1140% of consumers in Europe are trying to cut back on sugar.
03:15Our two biggest hits right now are our zero ketchup, which has zero added salt, zero added
03:21sugar, it's absolutely flying.
03:2326% growth, half of that is all new buyers into the ketchup category who weren't buying
03:29ketchup before.
03:30And that's now traveled across the globe.
03:33So it's launched in Brazil now.
03:34There, even 80% of the buyers didn't buy ketchup before.
03:38So that's really meeting the consumer where they are.
03:41Interesting.
03:41And what would you say, you obviously see changing consumer preferences.
03:46What would you say matters most to consumers in 2026?
03:49What I would say is convenience has been a big trend for a longer time, driven by urbanization,
03:56driven by dual income families, those kind of things.
03:59It still goes very much hand in hand in Europe, also with a lot of cultural traditions and emotional
04:05kind of decisions as well.
04:07So you've got to really understand the consumer because it can be a bit paradoxical at times.
04:11You know, taste is still very, very important.
04:14Also, as people dial up proteins and fibers in their diet, they're actually still looking
04:20for taste because just a piece of chicken like that or broccoli doesn't taste that great.
04:26And you see that health is really on trend as well.
04:30On top of all of this, affordability has become really important as well.
04:34So we need to make sure that we have the opening price points, that we have the right promotional
04:38program, giving the discounts when it matters to consumers.
04:42And then you can still thrive.
04:44We're winning market share in Europe right now.
04:46How do you balance quality with price, Willem, though?
04:49How do you strike that balance?
04:51It's a fine line, isn't it?
04:53You know, I don't think consumers want to trade off.
04:55And I think that that's probably the most common theme right now.
04:58They want something that's tasting brilliantly, that's really healthy and that they can afford.
05:03And if I look at some of our biggest innovations that are really winning out there, they're exactly
05:07in that space.
05:08And Willem, though originally, of course, an American company, Europe's market clearly incredibly
05:14important to Kraft Heinz's operation as you've set out there with those statistics.
05:18Do you still see those strong regional differences in consumer demand or our product preferences
05:25global, for example?
05:27Oh, yes, of course.
05:28I mean, who doesn't know the iconic baked beans in the UK?
05:31I grew up on them as a small boy and I think, you know, many British still absolutely love
05:36that stuff, but it's not as big in other parts of the world.
05:40Now, if I look at Heinz, and Heinz, by the way, is our real superpower as a company.
05:44It's a $5 billion brand and it's growing everywhere.
05:48But the future of Heinz is actually really being created in Europe here, which I find
05:52super exciting.
05:54So here, the brand has already gone from being a ketchup brand to a sauces brand that does
05:59mayonnaise and condiments and even a food brand.
06:02It started in the UK also with things like soups, but that's traveled to Australia, Canada,
06:08et cetera.
06:08Now, pasta sauces.
06:10So everywhere, we make sure that we tailor this to what the consumer really wants in
06:15that market.
06:16Ultimately, how do you see the future of the food industry in Europe?
06:21As I said, you know, I think we need to continue to make sure that the industry continues to
06:26be healthy and thriving for all the different players.
06:29And this is also what we discuss when we talk to regulators.
06:31And there's a couple of things that need to be in place for that.
06:35First of all, we need to make sure that the rules that are set apply equally everywhere.
06:41And what we now see is that, for instance, some of the retail partners that we work with
06:46in the value chain, they decide to go to the place that is the lowest common denominator
06:51in terms of upholding these rules.
06:53I don't think that that ultimately in the long run creates a very healthy situation for
06:57the industry and for European citizens at large.
07:01Equally, there's something called the unfair trading practices, which is there to protect
07:06the farmers.
07:07But there's a cap in there on 350 million of, you know, companies above that aren't protected.
07:15We believe that, again, in the industry of society and of industry, but also the farmers
07:22and the retailers, we should remove that cap because ultimately fairness should apply to
07:28everyone, irrespective of whether you're big or small.
07:31The final thing, and that's perhaps one of the most important things as a next step in
07:36the single market is we really need to get rid of this still fragmentation of local rules
07:42because that is not helping consumers at the end of the day.
07:51Let's move on to talk about the company brand, because I've read that 2026 marks 150 years
07:58of tomato ketchup, first mass produced by Heinz.
08:01Is that correct?
08:01That's correct.
08:02Wow.
08:03And what is the secret then to developing a product with such longevity?
08:07Henry Heinz was obsessed with quality.
08:09And I think that that's still at the heart of our culture.
08:12And if you want that quality, you've got to control the entire chain, which is why we
08:18have our own seeds department who really continuously work on the seeds that we use for our own tomatoes.
08:24Then there's really the long-term partnerships with the growers and the farmers that leads
08:30to better yields on the farmland that they use through crop cover and those kind of things.
08:35Then, of course, we've got our proprietary recipe, which is a very well-kept secret,
08:40and our own manufacturing processes.
08:42So doing the whole end-to-end chain is what makes Heinz ketchup so delicious and so good.
08:47It must be very hard to keep those recipes secret though, Willem.
08:50Well, I don't even know them, so that just helps.
08:53Nope.
08:54They don't share them with me.
08:55There's three people in the company who know.
08:57Oh, really?
08:58Wow.
08:58Okay.
08:59And so do you still see any growth in a product like this that's already so successful?
09:05Yes, absolutely.
09:06As I said, if you meet the consumers where they are, and in this case, the zero example
09:11is just one example, but our biological ketchup is another example, and new flavors that we're
09:17bringing like pickles or bacon or sriracha, you latch onto trends, you're in culture,
09:22you're out there.
09:24Part of the conversation of the day-to-day that consumers are having on social media,
09:28there's still phenomenal growth for brands like that.
09:31And how much would you say has the recipe changed since you first produced it?
09:37That I couldn't tell you, but I know that as a consumer, it still tastes the same as
09:41it tasted for me when I grew up.
09:43And what do you think separates a product that becomes a lasting brand from one that is simply
09:50a passing trend?
09:52As I said, I think it's quality.
09:54I think it's consistency and evolution at the same time.
09:58So consistency that, you know, you stay recognizable and people buy you for a certain reason and
10:04they can count on that.
10:06But you make slight adaptations if you really need to go with the times and then just staying
10:11hot in culture as well.
10:13And that's something that in our marketing, we've really stepped up massively over the last
10:18three, four years is our creativity and how present we are in social media.
10:22And what projects do you have at the moment that you're particularly excited about, Willem?
10:26Again, I'm really excited about creating the future of Heinz here in Europe.
10:30And that is continuing to evolve something that's as iconic as ketchup that's been around
10:36for 150 years.
10:38That's continuing that amazing growth journey that we've had in mayonnaise, where we're growing
10:43double digits around the world now.
10:44And, you know, we just want to get bigger and bigger.
10:46We're revamping our entire condiments range because you really do see that the foods that
10:52people are eating are changing.
10:54You know, chicken is exploding, fish is exploding.
10:56So we're launching all kinds of flavors that really match with these kind of on-trend foods.
11:02And then, you know, the pasta sauces that branch out from cold sauces into more real food
11:08that you prepare in the kitchen is also a very exciting journey.
11:12And what's the approach to innovation when it comes to food development?
11:17I love that question.
11:18So we have a fantastic R&D lab in Nijmegen, in Holland.
11:21It's the second largest outside of our R&D lab in North America.
11:25And it's basically the home of what we call taste elevation.
11:29So everything, sauces and stuff that adds taste and flavor and texture to your food.
11:33And here we have our own proprietary AI R&D model that spots flavor trends that are going on,
11:41that analyzes how you match the right flavors and the right sauces with foods.
11:46And that's really fueling our innovation pipeline.
11:49That's incredible.
11:50I just want to touch on what the biggest industry challenges are at the moment.
11:54Geopolitics, climate change, what are they for you?
11:57Climate change is obviously very relevant.
11:59Look at the warm summer that we've had here.
12:01And we're doing a lot in our own supply chain to also deal with that.
12:05First of all, in our own scope with our factories.
12:07So we've actually gotten all of our factories in Europe to be 100% renewable energy now, which is great.
12:13Part of it through a contract with Repsol.
12:15And part of it because we've just put solar panels all across the roofs of our factories.
12:20But we're not just doing stuff in our own factories.
12:23We're working with our farmers as well.
12:25Our biggest supplier of tomatoes in Europe, Conessa, is a company that we've worked with for 20 years.
12:31And we've worked with them on, for instance, energy efficient evaporation technology that's also brought down emissions there by 20%.
12:39So it's really an end-to-end approach because this is real and it's here to stay.
12:44And are there any other plans that you're working on that you can share with us?
12:47Not that I can share right now, but there are other things that we've done as well.
12:51So, for instance, Kit Green, the famous home of our lovely baked beans.
12:54We've also done heat pumps there to also reduce our emissions in that factory by 15%.
12:59So every opportunity that we can find, we're going after to make a difference.
13:09And finally, Willem, let's talk about your career because it's always very interesting to hear about the journey, the success
13:15journey of somebody in your position.
13:17And you've worked predominantly in the food and drink industry now throughout your career.
13:22How did you get into the industry and what drew you to it?
13:26You know, it's a bit of a story.
13:28I grew up with my dad working for a large company, worked for Shell his whole life and did the
13:33most fascinating kind of things.
13:34And my mother was an entrepreneur and she was very creative.
13:37She was an interior decorator.
13:38And I'm a bit of a mix of both.
13:40So what really attracted me to marketing and to FMCG in the beginning was the combination of creativity, analytics and
13:49commercialism.
13:50And my mom had stimulated entrepreneurship ever since I was a small boy.
13:54What kept me there was an evolving passion into really unlocking potential, whether it's in a business that can do
14:02more or a team or a person that can thrive more.
14:06That's really what keeps me going.
14:08And did you always want to be a business leader at this scale?
14:12It was never a goal in and of itself.
14:14You know, I did know that I wanted to cover a breadth of topics just because I find it fascinating.
14:20So I wanted the general manager track.
14:23I never wanted to become a specialist, you know, but that it would be specifically Heinz or at this level
14:28wasn't a goal in and of itself.
14:30I just wanted to make more and more impact as I grew and developed and learned.
14:34And what is it that attracts you so much and what you love so much about this industry?
14:39Are you a big foodie, for example?
14:40I'm a massive foodie.
14:42I love cooking.
14:42One of the roles I did was for a long time I worked in the food service industry and in
14:4875 countries around the world.
14:49So every time working with chefs, tasting things, seeing culinary trends emerge.
14:55When I left there, the team gave me a cookbook from Escoffier and a good wine tasting course.
15:02And that set me off on a whole trajectory of cooking for myself, for my family, for friends.
15:08And I love it.
15:09And you may not know the recipes, Willem, but do you get to take home some recipes or some of
15:14the new products before they hit the market?
15:16Oh, absolutely.
15:17Absolutely.
15:18And I test them with my family as well.
15:20Blind tested because I want to make sure that we've got the best tasting products out there.
15:25Excellent.
15:25And looking back, Willem, at your career, what do you think has been the most important aspect to your success?
15:33Would it be your skills, your personality or what do you think?
15:36There have been a couple of things that worked for me.
15:39Let me put it that way.
15:40One was staying master of your own destiny.
15:43You know, I think you've got to own your career like you own the business or the company that you
15:47work for and make the most out of it.
15:49I think really understanding what's important to you.
15:51For me, it was having a very fulfilling career, but also enabling my wife to have a very fulfilling career.
15:57And that drove some choices.
15:58And then filling the toolbox as much as possible with the tools that enable you to succeed when you get
16:06more responsibility.
16:08And that requires a lot of curiosity.
16:10So if there's one trait that I look for in upcoming leaders, it's actually curiosity.
16:16And what makes a candidate stand out for you?
16:18I'm obsessed with talent.
16:20In fact, the HR leader is the person I talk to the most.
16:23I think I speak to my HR partner five times a day and actually at one point in time pinged
16:29him at 3 a.m.
16:30because I found the one marketeer that I wanted for a certain job myself on LinkedIn.
16:36In this case, it was somebody who brought the combination of the right capabilities that we needed and the right
16:42cultural fit with Kraft Heinz.
16:45When it comes to career advice for viewers watching this show, what would be the one piece of career advice
16:50you would share to aspiring business leaders like you?
16:54I would fill my toolbox as broadly as possible as early on in my career as possible.
17:01I see some people getting stuck because they stay in one function for a very long time and then they
17:06realize that they want to actually broaden and it's too late.
17:11And that's really tough to see people with great potential nevertheless get frustrated by that.
17:17In the beginning, people are willing to take more risks on you, place a bet on you, go for it,
17:22go for as many different experiences.
17:24It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.
17:27Willem, thank you ever so much for sharing your insights with us and coming on The Big Question.
17:32It's been a pleasure to have you on the show.
17:33Thank you very much.
17:35Thank you very much.
17:35And thank you to our audience as well for tuning in.
17:38Don't forget you can catch all our Big Question episodes on the website.
17:42Just head over to euronews.com.
17:43See you next time.