Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after a merger of the brands created one of the biggest food manufacturers on the planet.

One of the companies, currently called Global Taste Elevation Co, will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kraft Heinz said Tuesday.

The other, currently called North American Grocery Co, will include legacy brands like Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. The official names of the two companies will be released later.

It’s unclear exactly what the split would mean for formerly Australian-owned brands such as Golden Circle, Fountain and Gravox.

Kraft Heinz said in May that it was conducting a strategic review of the company, signalling a potential split. It expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026.

When the company formed in 2015, it wanted to capitalise on its massive scale. But shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table.

Kraft Heinz and other food producers have tried to follow those trends. In 2021, Kraft Heinz sold both its Planters nut business and its natural cheese business, vowing to reinvest the money into higher-growth brands like P3 protein snacks and Lunchables. But the company continued to struggle, and Kraft Heinz’s net sales fell 3 per cent in 2024.

“Kraft Heinz’s brands are iconic and beloved, but the complexity of our current structure makes it challenging to allocate capital effectively, prioritize initiatives and drive scale in our most promising areas,” executive chair Miguel Patricio said in a statement.

The path to the merger of Kraft and Heinz began in 2013, when billionaire investor Warren Buffett teamed up with Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital to buy HJ Heinz Co. At the time, the $US23 billion ($35.28 billion) deal was the most expensive ever in the food industry.

3G was also behind the formation of Restaurant Brands International — a merger of Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes — and Anheuser-Busch InBev. It’s known for strict cost controls and so-called zero-based budgeting, which requires all expenses to be justified each quarter.

The deal was intended to help Heinz, which was founded in 1869 in Pittsburgh, expand sales of its condiments and sauces on grocery store shelves. Heinz’s new owners also set about cutting costs, laying off hundreds of workers within months.

At the same time Kraft, based in Chicago, sought for a partner after a 2011 split from its snack division, which became Mondelez International.

Bega Cheese bought Vegemite and a handful of Kraft brands from Mondelez International in 2018, bringing the iconic spread back into Australian hands for the first time in decades.

In 2015, Buffett and 3G decided to merge Heinz with Kraft. The merger created the 5th largest food and beverage company in the world, with annual revenue of $US28 billion. Buffett and 3G each contributed $US5 billion for a special dividend for Kraft shareholders.

But the combined company struggled, despite layoffs of thousands of employees and other cost-cutting measures. Even at the time of the merger, many consumers were shifting away from the kinds of highly processed packaged foods that Kraft sells.

The company’s net revenue has fallen every year since 2020, when it saw a pandemic-related bump in sales. In April, Kraft Heinz lowered its full-year sales and earnings guidance, citing weaker customer spending in the US and the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Carlos Abrams-Rivera will continue to serve as CEO of Kraft Heinz and will become CEO of North American Grocery Co once the separation is complete. Kraft Heinz said that its board is working with an executive search firm to identify potential CEO candidates for Global Taste Elevation Co.

The announcement follows the recent breakups of other big food companies. Late last month, Keurig Dr Pepper said it would buy the owner of Peet’s Coffee and then split itself in two, with one company selling coffee and the other selling cold beverages like Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP and energy drinks. Keurig and Dr Pepper merged in 2018.

In 2023, Kellogg Co also split into two companies. Mars bought one of the companies, dubbed Kellanova, which owned snack brands like Pringles. Italian confectioner Ferrero announced in July that it planned to buy WK Kellogg, the cereal company.

Kraft Heinz shares fell 3 per cent on Tuesday.