Welcome back, everybody. For our next session, I'm thrilled to welcome back the Kraft Heinz Company. With us today, once again, are Chief Executive Officer Carlos Abrams-Rivera and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Andre Maciel. Thank you both for joining us. Welcome back.
Pleasure to be here.
Thank you. So we have some things to discuss, without a question. How to throw out the old sort of fireside chat, you know, questions and come up with some new ones. But we appreciate you sort of being here, even in the midst of all that you've got going on. Maybe to start off at sort of a basic level, right? Yesterday morning, you announced you're going to plan to split the business into two separate entities: Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co. So to start, why do you believe the separation will lead to improved performance?
Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you. And I appreciate you being flexible and working with us. I'm sure you changed everything that you were going to ask us. Listen, I think ultimately it all comes down to focus. And I think one of the things that we have seen, and this has been proven now inside our company, that when we can dedicate focus, it actually leads to improved performance that ultimately will unlock shareholder value. If I go back, Andre, to what I commented back in May, that as a board, we were looking at strategic transactions, opportunities, because we believe the company's true valuation didn't reflect the potential of our company.
I think part of the reason we were doing those exercises is because we inherently understood that the more we can drive focus, the better performance will happen, and then it will yield the kind of value that we want. You know, and I think for us, it's not only a matter of us thinking about whether it's possible. It's a matter of fact that we have seen it work. You know, over the last two years, we have spent a lot of time and effort behind what we call the Brand Growth System, making sure that we are focused on driving improved performance in key brands. And when we have done that, it has paid off. We started this process working with our Heinz business in the U.K., with our Philadelphia business in the U.S.
Both of them, as we focus on driving better quality, better marketing, improving the communications, both in package and online, it actually yielded a reverse of those trends, negative trends that we have seen on those businesses. So we know that worked. That gave us confidence for us to now do that broadly in our portfolio. Now, today, if you look at, for example, our business like Lunchables, in which we have been able to, through the brand growth system, make sure we have innovation, improve our with PB&J, improve our quality in our product with the best cookies and crackers we've ever had, talk about the communication to our consumers in store by highlighting the 12 grams of protein that our products have. All that actually has led now to seeing growth in that business as well, too.
So we know that when we have been able to focus, it has driven growth. At the same time, the reality, I think that both the board and I agree, is that the complexity of the business today is a hindrance to be able to drive that kind of focus that we need in the business to drive better performance. So with this move, it allows us to do both. It allows us to reduce that complexity and increase the level of focus to drive better performance.
Thank you.
Sorry, there is also an aspect of the competitive landscape, right? Most of our competitors are very specialized. So you can argue somehow we are competing on even terms, right? Today, you have to spread two things: the time of CEOs, zone president, head of sales, head of quality, so on and so forth, across a very vast amount of categories where we're competing with people about thinking about this day in, day out. So trying to really allow us to have a higher span of attention of senior people across the different functions and really have this focus and develop deeper expertise in certain domains should translate into better performance as well.
Got it. Got it. You know, there are certainly plenty of investors that would say, hey, is this split really just essentially a reversal, right, of the original Kraft Heinz merger from 10 years ago? And I guess, why is this not just an unwinding, if you will, of what was done, you know, 10 years ago?
First, I would say no, it is not. The reality is that we have done the move that we have made and the parameters that we have actually put in each company respond to two things: how consumers are today behaving, which is very different than it was 10, 12 years ago. But it's also about thinking about the future and what we want to be able to take these two companies going forward. So for me, even a fact, you know, a fact is that both we have Kraft brands in both companies. We have Heinz brands in both companies. And what we're trying to do is, what is the right thing to do for Kraft Heinz? And remember, Andre, that a lot of these things were actually fitting into the strategy we laid out back in CAGNY in February 2024.
This idea of us driving focus behind our accelerated platforms, defining what our protected platforms were, and our balanced platform. That idea of us saying, we want to continue to drive the growth through both taste elevation, our ready to eat meals and snacking, those were the places that we identified back a year and a half ago, and it actually has shaped how we think about the two companies. So it really is about how we are seeing consumers today, how do we continue to see the growth in the future, and also the reality of who we are as a company that has really led to the way we kind of decided the two parameters.
Great. And you've talked about, obviously, the desire for increased focus. I guess, what does this increased focus allow you to do going forward that maybe you couldn't do in the current structure? Maybe there are even some examples that you can sort of point to.
Yeah, absolutely. Listen, I think that, you know, I always think about it in terms of how do you deploy your resources inside the company. When you have this greater focus, then it allows you to make sure that, you know, from the CEO down to the more junior person, are all aligned both in terms of their KPIs and incentive before what that company is supposed to do. So it allows us to make sure that a company like a North American grocery company that is going to be focused on good margins, stable shareholder cash, return to shareholders, that allows us to make sure that all this incentive is aligned to that, that we make sure that we're investing R&D, are helping us to drive the efficiencies in that company. Today, we're having to then do both things.
We're having to run a company. We're essentially having to run two companies inside this Kraft Heinz. So as we go forward, you'll see us then be more intentional of where we put those resources, expertise, and capability in each of those companies. I'll give you another example. You know, when we think about our, you know, Global Taste Elevation, 30% of the business will be in emerging markets. That means that we should also be thinking around how internally we have aligned ourselves to make sure that we support our emerging markets from our operations to our procurement to our marketing to make sure we continue to drive that growth in double digits that we have seen so far. But I think we can do even more.
So that idea of us creating opportunity for us to be thoughtful about the resource investment, the expertise, the alignment of the internal organization behind those KPIs, along with the capital allocation as well, too. I think when you're seeing those two companies, each one will have its own principle for how to think about the capital allocations that allows us to also be successful.
Sort of their own reason for being here.
100%.
Okay. Thanks for that color. You touched on this a bit on yesterday's call, but many pieces of the Global Taste Elevation business have had a challenging year, right, in terms of growth, even though historically, right, these assets have had a much better track record. Maybe you could put some context around what the specific challenges have been this year and why you don't see them as sort of structural for the Growth Co., if you will, going forward.
No, great question. I guess maybe part of it just to ground it. You know, if I think about, and I'm glad you said it, historically, these are businesses in Global Taste Elevation that have been growing, you know, I think eight of the last 10 years. Even if we think about this year, we've been growing about flattish. So I think some of the pressure has been mostly in the U.S. If you look outside the U.S., we actually are seeing already, you know, that most of that company is actually already a taste elevation company and are seeing kind of, you know, mid to high single-digit growth. And, you know, away from home, outside the U.S., you know, 3%-5% growth as well, too. So really the pressures have been in the U.S. because even in Canada, we also have seen growth in our taste elevation business.
For me, what I would say is the U.S. has a particular situation, I think, that we have been facing over the last year and a half or so. I think this affects many of us in the food industry. You know, if I, I guess you have the context too, Andre, but just for the audience here, I would say in the last five years, I think of it as three different eras in the United States. There's the COVID era, there's the high inflation era, and there's an era today where consumers are certainly trading down and more under pressure. Now, we thought that era was going to be very short because interest rates were going to be going down. That hasn't happened.
What ended up happening is that consumers are under pressure for longer than we expected, and that trade down happened for longer than expected. People are having to do, in families, having to manage their cash flow differently. So there is more of that push on the trade down. Now, what I would say too is that as companies are also adapting to that. So if you look at one of the things we're doing is, one, we rather than playing defense and try to get just a short-term pop in volume, we actually invest back in our business. We have mentioned this in every quarter of the earnings that we will continue to make investment as we see opportunities in the brand growth system. So we are investing to make sure that our products are the best ever and always worth the price of the product.
We are also making sure that we are giving more choices for consumers. So whether you see a $1 mac and cheese or a $1 bottle of dressings, or you also see a five-pack product of mac and cheese and club, that idea of us expanding the number of price architecture options for consumers is part of us responding to this era that is taking longer. The other thing I would say too is that, you know, we also have to be judicious in terms of how do we actually make sure that as consumers are going through still in this situation, that we continue to invest back in our brands. So, you know, we haven't shied away to say we're investing in the quality of our product.
We are investing in promotional investment that have the right level of return and to make sure we get the best execution possible. The last thing I would say too is part of our response to this particular era has been how do we go into more channels where consumers are now shopping that maybe they were not shopping before. And let me give you an example of dollar general. You know, we're now, we know consumers are looking for food now in the dollar channel. So if you go to dollar channel today, and I don't know how many of the audience goes to shop at dollar general, but I'll tell you, you'll find Oscar Mayer products today that weren't there two years ago.
It's a way for us to make sure that we're also providing options in new channels for consumers to make sure that as they are wrestling with how to manage their cash flow, that they have options whether they're going to a grocery store, a club store, or a dollar channel. So that's part of what we are adapting as well. I do think those are things that are cyclical in nature. And I think those are things that, you know, over time we'll see, you know, consumers better to be more stable. The last thing I would say though is we're not sitting still. You know, I think that I mentioned that Global Taste Elevation in the U.S., you know, is nowhere we want to be. We have been making investments that are not yet showing in the Nielsen data.
But I'll tell you, that becomes a huge priority for us to continue to see the progress in that part of the business because we know what it can do. We know what it has done historically, and we know what it's doing outside the U.S. too.
Yep. Great. Thank you for that. You know, interestingly enough, oftentimes with separations like these, the asset that is less about growth maybe and more about consistent free cash flow and smart capital allocation can actually prove to be a significant value generator. You know, on the call, you said scale for scale's sake perhaps isn't the right way to go. And I think many of us would agree with that. But scale that comes with focus does.
Right.
I guess, what exactly did you mean by this? And, you know, could North American Grocery Co. ultimately be a potential consolidator of, let's say, other more mature center store food categories that might benefit from a similar sort of reason for being, if you will?
Yeah. And just to give you, add to the context of the question, I would say, you know, I'm old enough to know that there was a point in which food companies were just buying scale thinking, you know, that will be the answer for them to be able to have a stronger performance. And I think that those that has proven out not to be the case. I think that I do think the opportunity of us driving scale with focus can be opportunity. So for us, it was important that as we said, both of those companies, that they will have the right balance sheet and flexibility to do transactions in the future that support the strategy of that company and the thesis of that company.
I believe that we'll do it in a way that we feel like it will have that, in a way, that if those opportunities come along and support the strategy, that we'll continue to look at exploring opportunities that help us do that.
Got it. Great. Andre, maybe you talked about $300 million in expected synergies. Do we have a sense yet where, so, you know, which the split of that 300 million is in these two separate entities? And does the synergy estimate include standalone sort of public company costs for the split entities?
Yeah. So the $300 million, which I explained yesterday in the call, roughly a third is COGS, a third is technology, and then the rest is split between sales, marketing, and other SG&A. We expected that most of the synergies should be on the global company.
Okay.
Okay? So, 80% or so. And that does not include one-off costs. We still are working through because now that this is public, we are working with quotes at certain vendors that will be supporting us along the way for certain specific tasks. I'm going to be providing disclosure on that during future earnings calls as there are numbers to report. Those also be managed very tightly. But yeah, that's the answer.
Okay. Thanks for that. On yesterday's investor call, you also mentioned that Global Taste Elevation Co. would likely post top-line growth towards the upper end of the company's current 2%-3% top-line growth algorithm, while North American Grocery Co. would be in the sort of very low single-digit range. How does this growth for each of these entities compare to the growth of the categories within each entity plays? Trying to get a sense of whether those outlooks sort of require consistent market share gains, or is it more growing in line with your expectation for their respective categories?
Yeah. What I'll say is, first of all, we are not yet providing, obviously, long-term algorithm for either company. I'm just speaking in the context of our current Kraft Heinz algorithm. But with that said, the global company will have nearly 20% of exposure to emerging markets. So by growing double digits like we have done for several years, that alone gives two points of growth to that company. Away from home as well, growing mid single digits and being now also nearly 20% gives another very significant uplift. And then if you go to the Global Taste Elevation, as you said, historically the industry grows a bit north of 2%. So we can be at flat market share and even you can argue lose a little bit of share and still be within these ranges.
Then on the North American company, the categories we play historically grow about 1.5% or so. So we could afford potentially even to lose 10-20 basis points of share and still be within that range that I described.
Yep. That's really helpful. Thanks for the clarity. In North American Grocery Co., company mentioned still significant margin opportunity going forward. Given the more recent performance, and it sounded like a disproportionate amount of the spend was going towards Global Taste Elevation Co., I guess, do you believe there needs to be sort of a one-time margin reset to sort of, you know, level set some of the brand investment spend that you may need, or do you think the current sort of cost structure is sort of where you need that business to be and you can start with that margin, you know, that margin ramp sort of sooner than later?
Yeah. Listen, I think that there's two ways to answer that question. I think first of all, if I think about what investments we have made, and in fact all the incremental investments we have made, we have said disproportionately in this year have gone through to what is Taste Elevation and disproportionately have gone to the U.S. I do think there's an opportunity when I think about the broader sense of investments of us thinking about North American Grocery Co. as a place in which we can invest different type of expertise and capabilities.
So for example, in order for us to make sure we continue to drive efficiencies, there may be opportunity for us to say, how do we actually improve the expertise from how we manage commodities to how we manage the operations that today we are having to kind of make some choices across 55 different categories in the U.S. So us being able to then say, okay, given this is the type of thesis we have with this company, we're going to make sure that we bring the kind of expertise that we need in order to make sure we can deliver on the margin and the continued driving efficiencies. You know, today I think if you think about a company as a whole, Taste Elevation is the most global platform that we have.
So all the efficiencies that we take from, you know, whether you're in Brazil, whether you're in the U.K., you can transfer easily across the company. A lot of the things in North American Grocery Co. are only in the U.S. So we don't have the capability scale in order that we will need as we go forward. So those are the kind of investment that I see us making in the future.
Got it.
Yeah. I don't think, and maybe to complement that, so we don't necessarily see the need for any significant margin reset. Obviously, again, let's wait until both companies can articulate their algorithms. If you put as a reference market investment, for example, compare what to be expected peer sets for both companies, you can argue that there is still more room for reallocation from the North American company into the global company when it comes to marketing levels given the baseline of current spend, you know?
Yep. Helpful perspective.
And let me also give a perspective, take advantage of the forum because I know that there were a lot of questions about net debt and what exactly this means and who is RemainCo, who is SpinCo. So look, baseline today is that the Global Taste Elevation will be the RemainCo, okay? So if there is any circumstance that will be beneficial to shareholders to switch that, we will. But our current, given everything we've done so far, the baseline will be that Global Taste Elevation will be RemainCo. On coming to net debt, we said very clearly that we are targeting both companies should be investment grade, and we were going to be working very closely with the rating agencies to make sure that that happens.
For us, the investment grade is not to be five times net debt, and it's not to be 4.5 net debt, you know? So I don't want to give a precise number right now, but it's really a net debt that provides. We want really to establish that both companies are set up for success, you know, and both have equal opportunity to succeed in their own, playing their own games, you know? So, and we want to make sure that both have enough excess cash to have flexibility to deploy.
Perfect. That's really helpful color as well. Thank you for that. I'm sure you got a lot of questions on this over the last two days, but the rationale for placing mac and cheese, right, as part of Global Taste Elevation, I think there was an expectation, again, not because we had any hard facts on it, but that, you know, Taste Elevation would be the sauces, the condiments, right? The piece that sort of we've all seen has had some pretty healthy growth over the last, you know, 10 years. I guess, how does, you know, a business like mac and cheese fit in there? And what was the rationale behind that?
I guess, Andre, I'll go back to the strategy we laid out a year and a half ago. We talked about our accelerated platforms, and that included Taste Elevation, included ready to eat meals and snacking. You know, let me start with the easy one. With snacking, I think part of the reason we moved Lunchables with North America grocery is for two reasons. One, there is some operational synergies. We have a meat and cheese in that business. And secondly, there's also the opportunity for us to think about, you know, how do we actually are more focused in refrigerated space in North America grocery and supply chain and our go-to-market. If I go then to mac and cheese, one of the, mac and cheese was always in our accelerated platforms, and the reason it was there is because we have seen category growth about 3%.
We have a market share of about 70% share with very strong margins. That was true then and is true today. So those, the parameters by which we decided that that's a place we want to continue to invest were true at that time and are true today, which is why it fits within what we can do in Global Taste Elevation. And in fact, if you look at some of our businesses in meals that are also not only in the U.S., but outside the U.S., whether it is the KD dinner version in Canada has been growing, growing two points of share this year. If you look at some of our business outside of the U.S., whether it's a Heinz that also has a Heinz Beanz component to it, it's a meal that is shelf-stable that also fits into the Global Taste Elevation.
So to me, what I think the question might be more is, you know, right now we see some challenges of mac and cheese. I can tell you that we have put that our business in the U.S. through the lens of Brand Growth System, and we have invested in improving the quality of the product that you're going to be able to actually taste as you think about going to the store today. We're in making sure that we bring innovation to marketplace, which you'll see in the next six months as well too. We improve the communication of the products. We really have new marketing out there, and you'll see that when you pick up a box of mac and cheese now, it talks about the fact that we have no artificial colors, ingredients, or preservative right in front of the label.
So I think we have done a number of things that actually have improved the business in mac and cheese to make sure it goes back to the historical growth that we have seen. But the conditions behind it are true then and are true today. The last thing I would say too that maybe some people who write about it may not be as aware of it is that there's also some operational synergies internally. So actually we make some of our sauces in the same place that we make mac and cheese as well too. So that also is, you know, there's some synergies actually by having those businesses together.
Yeah.
So there's growth considerations, scale considerations, and synergies or the synergies minimization considerations.
Got it. Great. Thank you. That's helpful. This move is partly about reducing complexity. You know, North American grocery will still have a number of different categories, channels, temperature states. I guess, what gives you the confidence that this business, as it will ultimately be, you know, set up, isn't still ultimately overly complex? And could there be potential for further, you know, asset optimization moves down the line if that were the case?
Let me start with the last part, which is, you know, I think we have the opportunity to make sure we have a flexibility in our P&L to both to drive focus, and we have said that in our balance sheet however that may be. Secondly though, if you look at total categories in the U.S., you know, we have about 55 categories that we're working with. As we go into North American grocery company, that number goes reducing at about half. So it is a significant amount of reduction in terms of complexity. The fact that we will all be focused in one geography, huge opportunity in terms of driving focus.
You know, you know, from the CEO to all the way to the lower parts of the company, the reality is that we'll be focused in a very small geography in a way we still be very relevant to our customers and our partners. You know, the last thing I would say too on this is that if I think about, you know, how you run that company, that focus is also on the fact of the capabilities and expertise that I mentioned earlier.
When we all understand how to run a meat business, how to make sure that in those categories that are truly important, and by the way, five categories will comprise about 50% of the business, then it allows you to just have better communication, better expertise, better understanding of the choices you have to make, and some to be a much more agile company to move in different ways. You know, we are today competing, and I think Andre mentioned this, competing with companies that this is all they do. You know, if you are in North America [?], where for us today is a $2 billion company, it is, and within a $27 billion company is a small part of our portfolio. Within a $10 billion company, it's a much larger part of portfolio.
It gives us opportunity to create a different level of focus on those areas that are going to be paramount for us to succeed and continue to drive the thesis of the company.
Right. No, that's helpful. Before we move away from just separation-related questions, I just want to make sure to say, is there any other, you know, topics along those lines that you want to make sure to sort of get out to the audience here? And if not, we can move on.
No, but maybe both related to today and related to the future. You know, I think what is important too is that we don't believe that just separating the company is a financial engineering method for us to create value. That's not our philosophy. Our philosophy is we believe that by separating the company is going to drive the better performance with the additional level of focus, and I think for us it's important that over the next, you know, until the moment of separation, we continue to make sure that we may see the progress in the company that ends to make sure that by the end of the exit of the separation, we're in a better place than we are today.
So while we are not waiting, you know, a year and a half until second half 2026 to make sure we start living into those principles, we start operating that way now. You see that in Q2 we basically, you know, did what we set out to do, and our goal is to continue to see progress in the Kraft Heinz of today to make sure it's a stronger company by the time we come out.
Okay. Good segue into.
Oh yeah. And I think based on some questions we got also this morning is we, during this period of transition, one, we'll continue to operate as business as usual. We're going to continue to increase investments if they are appropriate to do so as we are deploying the Brand Growth System. So business as usual, focus on the performance. And we have, because I have been working on this for a period of time already, there is a lot of work that has been done already, and we have already a separation office in place, very well-defined streams. We are carving out people dedicated for that to minimize distraction from people managing day to day. So we are very, very mindful as well on taking the right execution steps to ensure that we can really focus on the performance.
Yeah. I think that's a great point, Andre, because I think from the outside it feels like it could just be a distraction for management. Listen, I actually feel very privileged that I have people around me in our board that have had experience on going through this. So the fact that we also announced yesterday that we'll have a separation committee, you know, chaired by John Cahill, who has done this three times in his career, huge benefit for me that allows me then to continue to stay focused on the business. The fact that our chair is now stepping in as executive chair to help also bridge between the board and management during this time, huge support for me as well too. So Andre's and my focus continues to be making sure we do the right performance for Kraft Heinz.
Great. Great. Thank you. So maybe moving away from the separation. You know, Carlos, it was a tougher start for the year, really for the entire food industry, and those significant challenges remain, right? Kraft Heinz second quarter results were broadly in line, I think, with your revised full-year expectations and did show some sequential progress. It can be hard sometimes, I think, for investors to see this when, like in absolute terms, performance isn't where you want it to be yet. But maybe you can sort of start, and you touched on a little bit of this earlier, but level setting us in terms of where the consumer is currently, and then, you know, what in your recent results sort of gives you the confidence that you're on the right track?
Yeah. Listen, I think that there's a few things that are happening, particularly in the U.S., where you can see that, you know, consumers are, as I mentioned earlier, under pressure probably longer than originally we had expected coming into this year. I think what I feel great about is that in this moment in which companies can be tempted to just buy short-term volume by doing deep discounts, we're not doing that. We've been continuing to be diligent on whatever we make investment, we feel like it has to be the right return on that investment. So, you know, in the short term, obviously it's a little painful, but in the long term, it's the right thing to do, which means too that when we are investing in quality, when we're investing in better communication, we're investing in better marketing, the result of that takes a little longer.
But listen, I think the fact that we did that in Lunchables and now we're seeing growth, we did that in Capri Sun, we're seeing growth. As we continue to apply that model of a brand growth system, I think that's something that we'll continue to see the progress as we go forward. And I think we've been pretty agile on making sure that we have, again, better solutions for consumers independent of where they're shopping, whether you're in e-commerce, whether you are going to the dollar general, whether you're going to a club store, we'll have an option for you as well too.
So I think we've been solving both a channel expectation by us being able to be more expanding our point of distribution, but also making sure that we continue to invest behind our brands because ultimately that's what makes the consumer feel like they're having a great value.
Right. You've talked a lot recently about the brand growth system as a sort of proprietary way that the company's using to examine what the right level of sort of quality, packaging, marketing, you know, benefits to put in a product. All of these things are part of the sort of the value equation for consumers. What is it that's truly unique about, I guess, this approach by Kraft Heinz versus, let's say, other staples names that, you know, examine brand superiority in various ways?
Yeah. I'll say two things. I think first of all, it clearly is a, you know, we come at it with an agile mentality, meaning, you know, we dedicate teams, we make sure that our approach in terms of a, you know, with a level of forensic analysis of the opportunity, not just for today, but for the future. So when we think about, you know, how we are going to improve the quality, it's not just about how consumers are thinking about our products today, but what are the things that are relevant for them for the future so that we can then make sure that we have the best product not only for what their expectations might be, but anybody else who may be coming into the category. The second part of that too is we want to make sure we invest that guides our investments.
So it leads to better ROI in every dollar that we put behind it. And the third part of it is once we have that mapping of what we want to do with those brands, the way we actually execute those things are very unique to us. You know, we have had this opportunity to spend now for the last two and a half years a lot of effort behind what we call Agile@ Scale on how we actually then deploy agile methodologies against our biggest priorities. We're using that same level of methodology against these priorities to make sure that when we execute, we do it with agility. So it's a combination of this forensic analysis, more investment, thinking about the future, and the agility in which we execute the learnings behind that.
Right. But I'll say, Andre, that more important than being unique or not, the important thing for us is that there is an opportunity for us to systematically do a deep dive on our brands, and this is very clear an opportunity for us to unlock value. You know, we are seeing lots of places where more marketing was necessary, better product investments was necessary, be more focused on certain type of innovations, and that's the priority for us is how we can unlock value with that more than being unique.
And then maybe Andre, just to close it out, you know, the company's put a tremendous amount of effort and resource into productivity that is sustainable, right, rather than sort of one-off in nature.
Can you give us an overview of some of the most important investments you've made and maybe what kind of returns you've seen on those investments? And how do you ensure that you don't sort of lose some of that productivity mindset as the company ultimately separates?
Being efficient and focused on operational excellence is going to be part of our DNA and for sure be part of DNA of both companies. So we are convinced on that. Look, we feel proud that we have been now for five consecutive years should be delivering efficiencies like well ahead of the 3% that we have externally outlined, and we have lots of things happening across procurement, logistics, and manufacturing. Our manufacturing efficiencies, they are mostly focused on variable COGS. Technology has been helping us on that.
Once we expedite decision-making, we made a lot of investment in adding sensors across several of our factories nowadays, pretty much the entire U.S. and most of Europe at this point, give us real-time visibility when things are in that moment where overheating an equipment, a certain component, and then we can already push information to the shop floor immediately to have that immediate feedback. That's one example. On the logistics front, there has been working in terms of consolidating the number of warehouses in the U.S. We have close to 70 distribution centers at this point. It's extremely complex, and we have like a linear path that we have been executing now for two years to consolidate that. On the procurement front, our relationship with suppliers was very transactional in the past.
That we completely changed that, similar to what we did with the retailers. That's a lot more strategic, and we don't have any problem getting inspiration from productivity ideas from our suppliers. Go back to focus. Like, some of them live and breathe that every day. And before we were very close to those type of opportunities, and like we have now a supplier innovation week where we bring a lot of suppliers to be discussing what's coming in their pipeline so we can incorporate into us. So these are a few examples, and there is a lot more.
Perfect. All right. I think that's a great place to cut it off. We've covered a lot of ground. We really appreciate the incremental thought process around the separation. Please join us for the breakout, and please join me in thanking Carlos and Andre for being here.
Thank you.