Oprah Winfrey is starting a joint venture with Kraft Heinz with the goal of making nutritious food accessible to everyone. The venture, called Mealtime Stories LLC, will be developed and sold as a new Kraft line, according to a statement. The line will initially focus on refrigerated dishes that are ready-to-eat.
Winfrey, media mogul, and former talk-show host is known for improving business through her far-reaching influence. She gave sales a significant boost when she became the face of Weight Watchers International Inc. She also joined the board of the company and became a shareholder. Weight Watchers shares surged 170% within two days of announcing Ms. Winfrey’s stake in the company.
Oprah has also partnered with Starbucks to create the signature Teavana Oprah Chai.
Bloomberg analyst Ken Shea observes this joint venture as a way for Kraft to capitalize on Ms. Winfrey’s proven market success, “She’s shown that she lends credibility to a brand. This is a logical way to invest in that category.”
Mealtime Stories seeks to “create a new line of food that will make real, nutritious products more accessible to everyone.”
Heinz owned Weight Watcher for several years before selling the company in 1999 for $735 million. Sixteen years later in 2015, Kraft bought Heinz, making Kraft Heinz the third largest food and beverage company in the country. Warren Buffet and private equity firm 3G Capital orchestrated the merger. Kraft Heinz makes a line of frozen meals and desserts for Weight Watchers, called Weight Watchers Smart Ones, under a licensing agreement.
Kraft said the joint venture will donate 10% of profits to anti-hunger charities. Shares of the company rose in late trading up to 0.7% to $89.50 after news of the partnership was released. Weight Watchers shares also saw a gain of 1.1% to $12.15.
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