Kraft Heinz CEO: Inflation and Supply Shortages Here to Stay for a While

A bottle of Heinz Kraft Co. Heinz brand Yellow Mustard sits in a grocery bag in an arrange
Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio said Monday he does not see higher inflation and supply chain issues ending in the near future.

“We’ve already increased the prices that we were expecting this year, but I’m predicting that next year, inflation will continue, and as a consequence [we] will have other rounds of price increases,” Patricio explained to CNN Business.

A few months ago, the company hiked prices by 12.4 percentage points. However, Patricio said it tried “to minimize inflation on everything we do,” noting it would be easy to let the price fall on consumers but such a move comes with consequences.

Kraft Heinz has also explored different packaging and pricing options, but “it’s a constant fight” in trying to cut costs that continue growing, Patricio stated.

A significant number of American CEOs do not have a good outlook when it comes to the economy, a recent KPMG survey found.

A cashier assists a customer at a checkout counter at Harmons Grocery store in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. More than a year and a half after the coronavirus pandemic upended daily life, the supply of basic goods at U.S. grocery stores and restaurants is once again falling victim to intermittent shortages and delays. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A cashier assists a customer at a checkout counter at Harmons Grocery store in Salt Lake City, Utah, (George Frey/Bloomberg)

Ninety-one percent of those surveyed believe there is a recession looming, but CNBC international financial journalist Arabile Gumede explained recently that revised GDP numbers show citizens are currently suffering a recession, according to the technical definition.

The White House recently celebrated President Joe Biden’s (D) “Inflation Reduction Act” while consumer prices jumped again the month prior, Breitbart News reported September 13.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index released Tuesday morning shows that inflation in August rose one-tenth of a percentage point from July and up 8.3 percent from the previous year,” the outlet said.

Meanwhile, 93 percent of registered voters are worried about skyrocketing inflation and the state of the economy as the midterm elections approach, a recent Politico/Morning Consult poll found.

“The issue of inflation is likely to hurt Democrats in the midterm election. Sixty-four percent say Biden’s economic and energy policies were either very or somewhat responsible for inflation,” according to Breitbart News.

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