Heinz Launches R$85 Million Push to Take Mayo Crown from Hellmann's

Kraft Heinz will invest R$ 85 million to launch a reformulated mayonnaise in Brazil, the opening move in its plan to challenge Hellmann's control of a market worth 80% of national consumption in jars and sachets. The company confirmed the figure at the launch event for Maionese Culinária Heinz in downtown São Paulo.

The new recipe took two years to develop. Heinz tested six formulations before settling on a creamier product designed for hot recipes rather than table use. The formula will gradually replace the existing jar and sachet versions. The squeeze-bottle composition stays unchanged.

Why is Heinz attacking now?

Hellmann's, owned by Unilever, ended 2025 with 63% of the Brazilian mayonnaise market by value, according to Nielsen data released this week. Kraft Heinz holds 51% of the squeeze-bottle segment through its Heinz and Hemmer brands, the company said, citing Nielsen. But squeeze bottles cover only a fraction of demand. Recipe preparation in pots and sachets accounts for roughly 80% of consumption nationwide.

Kraft Heinz gained 3.8 percentage points of share between January 2025 and September 2026, rising from 18% to 21.8%, driven mainly by the Heinz brand. Ariel Grunkraut, the former Zamp CEO who now leads Kraft Heinz's Brazilian operation, estimates the company needs two to three more years to reach its target share of 45% to 46%.

The offensive forms part of a previously reported plan to double the size of the Brazilian business by 2030. Grunkraut said the company will lean on its full brand stable.

"Acreditamos que vamos precisar usar todo o portfólio para poder ser líder aqui no Brasil. Então, não vai ser só Heinz, mas acho que Heinz vai ser a grande vencedora," Grunkraut told the column at the launch event.

How big is the bet?

The R$ 85 million campaign breaks down into two tranches:

• R$ 35 million for media, spread between the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2027.
• R$ 50 million for in-store visibility actions throughout next year.

Mayonnaise already rivals ketchup as a local revenue driver. Grunkraut said Kraft Heinz mayonnaise revenue rose 25% through October this year, against 2.2% growth for the market. Heinz holds about 45% of the ketchup market in Brazil.

"Hoje a maionese Heinz, ela já é quase tão relevante quanto é o ketchup Heinz," the executive said. He declined to disclose the revenue share of each category.

Production has strained to keep up. Heinz's Brazilian output grew 90% over the past two years, pushing its factory to reach, already in 2026, the capacity the company had expected to last until 2028.

What comes after mayonnaise?

From 2027, Kraft Heinz plans to direct more investment to Hemmer, Quero and BR Spices. Grunkraut said the company spent the last two years reviewing the positioning of those brands, which will receive more resources to compete across price tiers and regions, including in mayonnaise.

The next expansion cycle will run without acquisitions. That marks a break from 2020 to 2025, when Kraft Heinz doubled its Brazilian size, aided by the 2021 purchases of Hemmer and BR Spices. The company invested roughly R$ 1 billion in Brazil over the last five years, Grunkraut said.

Do emerging markets carry the group?

The Brazilian offensive aligns with a wider pattern. Kraft Heinz posted global net revenue of US$ 6.1 billion in the third quarter, down 2% year on year, with organic sales down 1.1%, pressured mainly by North America. Emerging markets told the opposite story: revenue of US$ 720 million, up 13.8%, with organic growth of 15.6% and an 8.4% gain in volume and product mix.

Brazil is the largest market in that emerging-markets division, ahead of China, and Heinz's Brazilian operation alone booked R$ 4 billion in revenue last year. The company does not disclose country-level results, but Grunkraut said Brazil has contributed to the division's expansion through market-share gains and volume growth — a claim the mayonnaise offensive is designed to extend through 2030.