Kraft on the Internet – Can tradition and simplicity still be cool

Selecting a consumer goods company that has an online presence turns out to be pretty hard. And that is not because it is hard to find a company that fulfills the single criterion of having a Web site, just on the contrary, the question becomes how to choose one of the millions that are out there. Probably the easiest way out of this dilemma is to select something familiar and what can be more familiar than Kraft. Everybody who has ever walked into a grocery store in the U.S. or elsewhere has seen the red, white and blue logo on almost every aisle in all food categories from frozen foods, to marinades and salad dressings, to beverages, to cereal. In addition, the company also owns such product category leaders as Nabisco, Post, Oscar Mayer and Milka. Trying to name all of the brands that fall under the umbrella of Kraft is impossible but it probably suffices to say that its seven biggest brands rake in yearly revenues of over $1 billion each and 50 of its brands have yearly revenues of over $100 million. In the company’s more than 100 years long history, Kraft products have won the trust of consumers in more than 155 countries around the globe and are now present in more than 99% of U.S. households. The fact that Kraft is one of the most successful consumer goods manufacturers, with revenues of over $34 billion, is indisputable the question at hand, however, is how does such a behemoth adapt to the changing landscape of doing business and establish an online presence?

Over the years the company has used both the house of brands and branded house approaches. Regardless of whether or not Kraft appears as an integral part of the brand name, the main corporate site – www.kraft.com - divided into three sections Recipes & Product Information; Corporate Information; and Charitable Contributions, provides information on each and every one of the brands the company owns.

The Corporate Information section provides information about the company and the various brands. Investors can also find some useful information regarding the company at www.kraft.com/Investor. Information available includes financial news, stock information, SEC filings and annual reports, company fact sheet, as well as investor kit and corporate investor contacts. The site is also a useful resource for the media. At www.kraft.com/MediaCenter interested parties can find the latest corporate news releases accompanied by B-roll, logos and image gallery, as well as recent management speeches and the corporate media contacts.

The Recipes & Product Information link takes you to a different domain – www.kraftfoods.com/kf - where you can find everything you want and need to know about the company’s products, in particular, and food and eating, in general. Information than can be found includes new product developments; detailed recipes that include calorie counts and sometimes even “How-to” videos for the beginning cooks; health and dietary advice; store locators, and many more. Everybody who has ever been responsible for preparing their own food knows that the hard part is often times not the cooking itself but rather coming up with an idea of what to cook. It turns out that at www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Dinner there is a quick and easy solution to this problem, all you have to do is enter three of the ingredients that you want to use for your meal and the site will come up with a list of suggestions for meals that can be prepared using those ingredients. This section of the site also provides suggestions for meals that just take minutes to prepare, as well as budget meals. You can also Kraft’s template to make a well-organized shopping list so that you don’t miss any of the groceries you need to buy. Finally, the Dinner section provides advice for storing and freezing food for those of us who like cooking but can never precisely calculate how much they need to prepare if they don’t want to be eating the same thing a whole week.

At www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Entertaining one can find different recipes for everyday meals, as well as suggestions for holidays and special occasions. The recipes are divided into Appetizers, Entrees, Sides and Desserts for ease of use. Some of the recipes are accompanied by “How-to” videos but I have to warn you that if you are using a Mac you should not rely to heavily on watching those because they refuse to play, or at least on my computer they do. The site also offers tips on planning parties that can help you calculate the amount of food and beverages you will need depending on the number of guests and guide you with the choice of the menu.

The site also provides information on healthy living at www.kraftfoods.com/kf/HealthyLiving. Here the calorie-conscious part of the population can play around with tools like body mass index calculator, fiber & carb and calcium counters, and food analyzer. People can also learn how to burn those extra calories from the Dessert menu, what is their proposed healthy weight based on their height. They can also watch some exercise demos and find recipes for healthy, dietary meals. The site also has articles on nutrition, including kids nutrition; smart snacking; weight management; food allergies and sensitivities; and diabetes. There is an entire separate Diabetes Center for those affected by the disease, who still want to enjoy a tasty and nutritious meal.

There is also a place for mothers and kids on the site at www.kraftfoods.com/kf/YourKids. Here mothers can find kid-approved recipes, as well as recipes that might be appealing to little choosy eaters. In addition to that, visitors to the site can find ideas on how to make cooking an entertaining, enjoyable and safe experience for the little helpers. In this section mothers can also find a lunchbox cheat sheet to help them prepare healthy, easy and fun lunches for their kids. Three lists of lunchbox jokes complete the menu. The site also provides mothers with advice and suggestions for birthday party preparation, including everything from the food and party fun to the invitations and thank-you’s, as well as recipes that can entice little choosy eaters.

Another section of the site is dedicated to making cooking an easier and more pleasant experience for the novices. At www.kraftfoods.com/kf/CookingSchool beginner cooks can find everything from “How-to” videos and step-by-step preparation instructions to advice on product substitutions (if you ever want to bake something but realize there is no baking powder, don’t panic – you can use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar instead). The site also reveals some grilling secrets and provides advice on how to select the best knife for a specific type of product. Information on baking cookies and freezing food can also be found on this Cooking 101 page.

If you still have any questions concerning Kraft products, food or cooking, you can post them on the sites message board and you will receive a quick reply from the Kraft Kitchen staff. Information on different promotions and sweepstakes is also available at www.kraftfoods.com/kf/promotions. Archived issues of Kraft’s Food & Family magazine can provide further information on numerous topics.

The third section of the main site – Charitable Contributions – provides information on the charity initiatives that the company is undertaking both in the U.S. and globally. As a seamless fit for its products, the company focuses its efforts on supporting programs that help alleviate hunger and promote healthier lifestyles. All causes that want to apply for donations by Kraft have to meet four criteria that can be found at www.kraft.com/giving/united-states.

In addition to the Kraft site the company has also developed a number of separate sites for promoting its products in an engaging way. Postopia is a site where the little fans of the Pebbles cereals can play a variety of games and win PosTokens, online coins that can be used to unlock secret levels, extra lives and bonus points. In order to be able to use all the different features of the site kids should create an account. The registration process asks them to fill in their gender and age, children younger than 8 years are required to get their parents consent before registering for the site. Postopia, however, does not connect to the Kraft main site in any visible way.

Kraft also recently launched a viral site for one of its other cereal products – Honey Bunches of Oats with Real Chocolate Clusters. The site is centered on the idea of introducing a new holiday – the day after Valentine’s Day. A viral music video called “I made you breakfast in bed” by Dawn’s Early Knights entertains the visitors to the site. At the end of the video a coupon for $2 discount on Honey Bunches of Oats with Real Chocolate Clusters is provided. The site links to the “I made you breakfast in bed” microsites on YouTube.com and Facebook.com. If you like the cheesy song, you can download it as a ringtone for your phone or you can email a personalized video to your significant other to remind them everyday can and should be the holiday of love. The site can take you to Kraft’s main site trough a link at the bottom of the page or in the Pantry section of the site.

Overall, kraft.com is is doing a great job with enhancing Kraft's reputation as an irreplaceable helper for those who want simple, tasty meals everyday. However, the experiential sites the company has created for some of its cereal products have been moderately effective in attracting new people to the brand. Probably because there is no obvious connection between those sites and the company's main page - Posotpia and Breakfast in Bed are not mentioned anywhere on kraft.com and there is no visible Kraft presence on the experiential sites, either.