How Diana Frost keeps Kraft Heinz’s brands top of mind for consumers

For Diana Frost, 2023 was a busy year—one that included a global campaign, the creation of new food technology and a brush with Taylor Swift. In June, as chief growth officer for Kraft Heinz North America, Frost oversaw the launch of Heinz’s first global campaign that focused on irrational fan love for the beans and ketchup brand. The creative featured scenes of fans swiping hotel mini ketchup bottles and smuggling tins of beans through airport security. In the fall, Kraft Heinz jumped on the “seemingly ranch” Taylor Swift trend when a photo of the pop star at a football game showed a lone chicken nugget with a dollop of ketchup and what looked like ranch. Within 48 hours, Kraft Heinz had made “Seemingly Ranch”—a mix of ketchup and ranch—real. On the technology side, Frost’s team helped create the Heinz Remix, a digital sauce dispenser that allows consumers to mix condiments into new flavors. The company’s 360Crisp technology rolled out in the fall, allowing consumers to microwave a Lunchables grilled cheese that would be crispy on the outside and melted on the inside. “Grilled Cheesies was the first product, but you’ll see a whole pipeline of products that build on this technology,” Frost said. “We’re going to use this in so many places, which is convenient for parents, but easy for kids too.” In January 2024, Frost was promoted to global chief growth officer for Kraft Heinz. Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here What advice would you give your younger self? Two things: Be happy now. Find joy and contentment in the present moment. Don’t wait for a certain life or professional achievement to celebrate happiness. Remember that joy is found in the journey, not just the destination. And second, you can’t “have it all” in the traditional sense, but you can have your all. Your definition of “having it all” can and should be individualized. You can only define and measure it for yourself! What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? The biggest risks I’ve taken have always yielded the biggest rewards, both personally and professionally. I’ve always jumped at opportunities—even lateral ones—that allowed me to gain experience in a different capacity. These moments were scary and uncomfortable, but I learned so much. In fact, I’ve learned more in the last 3.5 years at Kraft Heinz than I have in my entire career because I took the risk of leaving a company I loved to help shepherd Kraft Heinz’s transformation. And I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved so far, with so much more to come. If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you be doing and why? That’s a tough one. My two biggest passions are my daughters, and I love the thrill of sports. In another life, I would probably be home with my kids while running my own business or working in the sports industry. Maybe even playing professional tennis! What should the industry do to encourage more women and people of color into its ranks? Three areas we should continue to lean into and drive forward as an industry are flexible work arrangements, mentorship within companies and at the university level (this includes networking groups with sponsors and allies), and showcasing and highlighting success stories. Momentum breeds momentum, always. How will AI impact your job in the future? AI is revolutionizing the way we live and work. At Kraft Heinz, we’re using AI as a co-pilot to accelerate creativity, productivity, data and analytics and innovation. This includes deploying AI across our business from using it to predict supply chain variables that may impact our products’ delivery path to developing plant-based versions of our beloved brands at a level of speed and taste that’s never been done before. We’ve even partnered with OpenAI to create a personalized food assistant app—“Ai.Oli.”—that makes people’s home cooking experience easier. When it comes to AI, what’s critical is a willingness to embrace, adapt and learn. It’s exciting and it’s only the beginning. Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here

How Diana Frost keeps Kraft Heinz’s brands top of mind for consumers

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