Another of Australia’s favourite brands is disappearing

Kraft is a brand that most Australians and New Zealanders would find on their pantry shelves. Vegemite, cheese, peanut butter, Mac & Cheese. That’s because it’s one of the biggest brands in the world, worth a staggering $12 billion globally according to Forbes, but it’s set to disappear. 

You may have already noticed that Vegemite and Philadelphia no longer bear the classic Kraft red, blue, and white logo, or that Kraft Singles cheese slices have become DairyLea Slices. And soon, Kraft will disappear from its jars of peanut butter, to be replaced with The Good Nut spreads. 

It is a little confusing that such a well known label would dump its its iconic branding, but it has come about after a series of takeovers and demergers have left many of these Australian products not even belonging to Kraft anymore. 

Kraft actually originated in the US, in Chicago, but has been in Australia since 1926 when Melbourne man Fred Walker persuaded Kraft to give him the Australian patent for processed cheddar. In 2010, Kraft bought Cadbury, a favourite of Australians.

Not much later, Kraft split in two, forming the Mondelez company which had Cadbury, Oreo, and other sweets. However, in Australia, Mondelez ended up with Kraft cheese and Vegemite, paying royalties to Kraft to make the products with the Kraft label. 

Although the products aren’t changing, there’s little doubt that consumers will be confused and may not recognise the new labels in their shopping. 

Will the branding change affect the way you shop?