Kraft Heinz and Disney announce a food alliance, decades after Kraft left EPCOT
Kraft Heinz and Disney announced a multi-year deal on July 21 bringing Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and eight other brands to Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line. Kraft has been here before, though. It helped open EPCOT in 1982.
Kraft Heinz and Disney are getting the band back together, and most people won’t realize it’s a reunion.
On July 21, the two companies announced a long-term alliance that puts ten Kraft Heinz brands, including Heinz, Philadelphia, and Kraft Mac & Cheese, across Disney’s American parks, resorts, and cruise ships.
New menu items. New Heinz condiment stations with custom-built equipment. New dining experiences at hundreds of spots across Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line.
It launches this summer, with a first look coming at D23 in August.
What the Kraft Heinz Disney deal actually includes
Strip out the corporate language and here’s what a guest actually notices.
Heinz ketchup and its sauces get official real estate in the parks, including new condiment stations built just for Disney. The company is also bringing its “Sauce Vault” to D23, Disney’s big fan convention, running August 14 to 16 in Anaheim.
Beyond the food itself, the deal covers marketing tie-ins and content across Disney’s media platforms. The press release name-drops settings from Main Street, U.S.A. to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, so expect the branding to reach into the themed lands, not just the food courts.
What’s not in the release is pricing, specific menu items, or which restaurants. That’s all “coming soon,” with the rollout spread across the rest of the year.
Kraft helped open EPCOT back in 1982
Here’s the part the announcement doesn’t mention, and it’s the good part.
Kraft isn’t a newcomer to Disney World. It was one of the original sponsors when EPCOT opened on October 1, 1982, backing The Land pavilion in a deal reported at $35 million over ten years.
If you’re old enough, you remember what that sponsorship paid for. Kitchen Kabaret, the goofy animatronic show where singing food taught kids about the four food groups. Anybody who can still recite “Veggie, Veggie, FRUIT FRUIT” learned it courtesy of Kraft.
Kraft’s money kept The Land running day to day, funding the attractions, the restaurants, and the shops inside. It was a real partnership, not a logo on a wall.
Then in 1993, Kraft walked. It pulled its sponsorship, and Nestlé stepped in the very next day to take over the pavilion. Kitchen Kabaret eventually became Food Rocks, and Kraft’s name faded out of the parks.
So this “landmark alliance” is really Kraft coming home after roughly 30 years away. The press release calls it new. Longtime EPCOT fans will call it a homecoming.
Why Disney and Kraft Heinz are teaming up again now
The timing makes sense for both sides.
Disney runs these corporate alliances as a two-way street. A partner helps foot the bill and gets its brand woven into the most-visited theme parks on earth. Coca-Cola, one reason a Coke costs what it does at Disney, has run this playbook for decades.
For Kraft Heinz, a company posting around $25 billion in yearly sales, the parks are a direct line to families in a happy, wallet-open mood. Executives on both sides used the same word: families. These are two brands that a lot of people grew up with at the same kitchen table.
Whether that means better park food or just more Heinz logos on the ketchup you were already getting, well, that part depends on the menu. And Disney hasn’t shown the menu yet.
For now it’s a handshake and a promise, with the details landing at D23 next month. If you’ve got a soft spot for old EPCOT, though, there’s something nice about Kraft walking back onto Disney property after all this time.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
The Kraft Heinz Company (July 21, 2026), the official alliance announcement, the ten brands, the parks-and-cruise scope, the executive quotes, and the D23 activation
The Walt Disney Company (2025), Disney’s $94.4 billion fiscal year revenue and corporate alliances structure
Storybook Amusement (November 2024), the 1978 Kraft sponsorship deal reported at $35 million over ten years
Theme Park Tourist and Park Lore, the Kitchen Kabaret history, Kraft’s role financing The Land, and the 1993 handoff to Nestlé
Disney Food Blog (June 2020), the Kitchen Kabaret “Veggie Fruit Fruit” detail and The Land’s original sponsorship
Wikipedia (retrieved July 21, 2026), Kitchen Kabaret’s October 1, 1982 opening and Kraft sponsorship dates