Report: Kraft meeting disappoints analysts

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Analysts were disappointed by U.S. food giant Kraft Foods Inc.'s decision to retain all its product lines, a published report said Wednesday.

The analysts thought Kraft, the largest U.S. food and beverage company, would shed well-known products like Maxwell House coffee and Planter's peanuts to focus on meat and cheese, Crain's Chicago Business reported.

"Man can't live by one product category alone," Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld told them, arguing Kraft's large scale would "give us more competitive advantage."

Many analysts disagreed, the newspaper said.

"If you look at the companies that have gotten leaner, like Kellogg, Dannon and Campbell, they've performed better. Those that have gotten bigger have struggled," Morningstar Inc. analyst Gregg Warren said.

Kraft, a $35 billion company based in Northfield, Ill., is testing new package-food products, Rosenfeld said. It will also spend more on marketing.

Kraft will increase marketing as a share of sales from 6.9 percent to nearly 9 percent by 2009, Advertising Age reported -- an increase of $370 million to $750 million over the next two years.