The news: Kraft Heinz’s innovation strategy centers on meeting consumers’ unmet dietary needs and preferences, Jerome Drolet, the company’s new president of taste elevation, told Food Dive.

The company recently launched a lactose-free version of Philadelphia cream cheese, which it says is the first from a major brand in the US, in the hopes of better addressing the needs of the up to 50 million Americans who are lactose intolerant.

The strategy: Kraft’s lactose-free Philadelphia cream cheese launch encapsulates the company’s approach to innovation. Rather than taking a risk on a new brand, the company is adding new formulations to products that already have strong trust and recognition to reach a wider swathe of consumers. Over the past several years, Kraft Heinz has introduced versions of its products that are gluten-free, plant-based, sugar- and salt-free, or made without artificial colors or sweeteners, all in the hopes of serving the dietary preferences and needs of the largest number of shoppers.

While that strategy may deliver better long-term dividends than novelty items like apple pie-flavored Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kraft Heinz’s focus on its existing product line could cause it to miss out on growth opportunities with new categories. The company’s decision to prioritize product perfection over speed to market is also risky, given rapidly shifting consumer tastes and a compressing trend lifecycle.

Implications for CPG companies: Despite the risks, there are advantages to Kraft Heinz’s customer-first innovation strategy. Focusing on areas where consumers are underserved—such as the lactose-free space—creates an opportunity for the company to build goodwill and loyalty, not to mention drive growth at a difficult time for the CPG industry, especially if it can deliver products that replicate the taste and texture of the original.

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