Driscoll’s, Kraft Heinz Among Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024
Fast Company has released its prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 and companies including Driscoll’s and The Kraft Heinz Company have made the cut.
“Driscoll’s has one of the world’s largest Research and Development Flavor Centers that is solely dedicated to berry flavor innovation through our own proprietary varieties,” said Soren Bjorn, CEO of Driscoll’s. “We leveraged this center of excellence for the launch of our premium Sweetest BatchTM berries. Shoppers can now experience unprecedented flavor with a trusted brand that they know and has been part of their daily lives.”
For more than 100 years, Driscoll’s has been on a mission to delight consumers with Only the Finest Berries, according to a company statement. This pursuit has made Driscoll’s one of America’s most beloved retail grocery brands and the first to market a full portfolio of Sweetest Batch™ strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.
Meanwhile, The Kraft Heinz Company was ranked No. 26 on the same list. As part of this year’s list, Fast Company highlighted HEINZ REMIX, the first customizable and IoT-enabled digital sauce dispenser to launch that allows people to personalize their sauce choices, as a top innovation.
“We have re-engineered our company for the future,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera. “We are driving innovation faster than ever before and the world is taking notice. I am proud of our teams around the world and encouraged by our momentum but not yet satisfied. We are unlocking the power and scale of Kraft Heinz and truly living our ambition to lead the future of food – and it’s only the beginning.”
Among recent innovations, Kraft Heinz debuted its first-ever innovation platform 360CRISP™ last year. Revolutionizing the frozen aisle, 360CRISP delivers crisp products from the microwave like you traditionally get from the stove. Kraft Heinz also recently created an industry-leading AI-enabled supply chain “control tower,” to get its products into the hands of customers and consumers faster than ever before.
“We are innovating across the company, deploying digital-first solutions that bring ‘the future’ to our consumers and HEINZ REMIX is a great example of this innovative mindset in action,” said Diana Frost, Global Chief Growth Officer at Kraft Heinz. “We’re sitting at the intersection of food and technology, revolutionizing the meal table and creating meaningful food experiences for people around the world.”
The World’s Most Innovative Companies stands as Fast Company‘s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year.
Fast Company‘s editors and writers identified the companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world. Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies package is available online and on newsstands beginning March 26.
“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”
Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala on May 16. This event celebrates the Most Innovative Companies honorees and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2024.