Kraft Heinz needs innovation to survive. It's keeping five test kitchens busy trying to stay relevant

GLENVIEW, Ill. - Robin Ross, director of culinary at Kraft Heinz, doesn't need data to know how much consumer tastes have changed since processed food reigned supreme.

When she was growing up, dinner often meant heating up a can of something on the stove, and when she was raising kids she bought a lot of McDonald's Happy Meals. But today her adult daughter hand-breads chicken nuggets for her children, part of a broad trend of families opting for more fresh, natural, personalized meals.

That shift has dogged massive prepared food companies like Kraft Heinz, whose brands became household names at a time when shoppers cared more about consistency, convenience and familiarity than that long list of ingredients on the packaging.

For many of these companies, the fight to stay relevant means rolling out innovative new products that are either developed internally or brought on board as part of the acquisition of startup food companies. At Kraft Heinz, it's Ross' job to create new products, or new versions of the old standbys, that capture the attention of a modern food shopper with discerning tastes and a plethora