Jesse Newman

Wow.

Between 2022 and 2025, they went from capturing 45% of American mac and cheese dollars to 39%.

So they've lost a significant amount of mac and cheese.

They've lost a significant amount of market share.

So did the year of mac and cheese help at all?

Through the year, sales were still down compared to the year prior.

Now, the company has said things are improving.

They pointed to this four-week period in November where sales were up.

So they said, look, we're not happy with where things are, but we are seeing progress.

At the end of the day, it is a story of mismanagement and executives who missed signals and opportunities.

They really rested on the laurels of these longtime brands that in fact no longer had the cachet with consumers that they once did.

So I think they missed an opportunity to listen to employees who were close to consumers and who were close to retailers who were saying this product needs an upgrade.

And they thought that retailers wouldn't get rid of the blue box.

And that's largely true.

But as we've seen, they could sure shrink its presence on shelves if something better comes along.

And something better will always come along because there are brands out there fighting to give consumers what they want.

And if you aren't one of them, you're very vulnerable and best of luck to you.

OK, so there is some downside for consumers and evidently for big food businesses.

But are there companies and parts of the agricultural industry that stand to benefit from these changes?

I'm thinking about this huge conversation amongst Americans about eating more protein.