Mac and Cheese. One of the American classics that is perfect for a rainy day in the creeping days of fall. But for every American to be able to cook Mac and Cheese, what is the best way to do it? Box Mac and Cheese of course! 

However, the variety in what brand of box Mac and Cheese people eat is very little; with Kraft dominating the Mac and Cheese market. In a free response survey with students and teachers: out of 33 people, 19 of them said that Kraft was their favorite (or that it was the only one they knew of). 6 people said Velveeta, 5 had said Annes were their favorite, 1 had said Stoffers, Hamburger Helper had 1, and 1 person said they liked a Private Grocery store brand of Mac and Cheese. A graph by Slow Graph Reveals had stated that all Mac and Cheese brands owned by Kraft (Kraft Mac and Cheese, Velveeta, etc.) had made sales of over $850,000,000, and Annes making below $100,000,000.  

 Kraft Mac and Cheese has the monopoly over the Box Mac and Cheese market, by why is that? Kraft was one of the first Mac and Cheese companies to be in the Box Mac and Cheese market so people are most familiar with that brand, along with many people being nostalgic for Kraft over the years and will always have it stocked up in their homes. Kraft (The Kraft and Heinz Company) pours $1,071 million into advertising while Annie’s (Annie’s Homegrown) only spends slightly less than $100 million on marketing. Due to this, Kraft will always have led on their products like their signature Kraft Mac and Cheese or Velveeta while lesser-known brands will never be heard of or bought which can affect these companies when competing against Kraft. 

So, what can you do if you want to try different Mac and Cheeses, or want to help support smaller companies that can make a good impact? Try different brands of Mac and Cheese and experiment a little with what Mac and Cheese you consume! Do research into different brands if you want to support a smaller company! Even try homemade Mac and Cheese if you want to put extra effort into making something even more delicious! But at the end of the day, Mac and Cheese will forever be one of the classics of a rich and wonderful meal and the end of the day of hard work! 

Sources: 

Amount of money in marketing for The Kraft Heinz Company; https://www.statista.com/statistics/525259/ad-expenditure-of-the-kraft-heinz-company/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20report%2C%20the,dollars%20on%20advertising%20in%202023. Annie’s marketing costs: https://advertisers.mediaradar.com/annies-homegrown-advertising-profile graph of top earning mac and cheese sales: https://slowrevealgraphs.com/2023/06/20/boxed-mac-cheese-sales-in-the-us/