Kraft Heinz reported $26 billion in net sales in 2023. It runs more than 80 brands across 200 countries, and it has a formal supplier diversity program backed by real membership commitments. The company belongs to NMSDC and WBENC and is a signatory to the Billion Dollar Roundtable — a group of corporations that each spend at least $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers.
That context matters because it tells you this is not a PR page with no mechanism behind it. When Kraft Heinz says it tracks spend, it means its procurement team is measured on it. That creates an opening.
Here is how to pursue it.
Kraft Heinz's supplier diversity program
Kraft Heinz's supplier diversity effort sits within its Global Procurement function. The company's stated goal is to embed diverse suppliers across all spend categories, not just to concentrate them in a "diversity set-aside" bucket. Membership in the Billion Dollar Roundtable signals that annual diverse spend has crossed (or is being tracked toward) the $1 billion threshold, though Kraft Heinz has not published a specific annual number in recent public filings.
Kraft Heinz publicly names NMSDC and WBENC as its primary certification partners, which means their third-party vetting standards are the baseline for what counts as a certified diverse supplier. The company also participates in NMSDC's Corporate Plus program criteria, which governs how large suppliers are evaluated at scale.
The practical implication: if your certification comes from an NMSDC regional affiliate or from WBENC, it will be recognized. Certifications from smaller or state-level bodies may still count but will require more explanation in the registration process.
Which certifications carry weight
Four certifications will carry the most weight in Kraft Heinz's supplier diversity review:
MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) issued by an NMSDC regional affiliate. This is the primary certification Kraft Heinz evaluates when assessing racial and ethnic minority ownership. Your business must be at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a person who is Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Native American.
WBE (Women's Business Enterprise) issued by WBENC or a WBENC Regional Partner Organization. Women must own at least 51% of the business and hold day-to-day management control.
WOSB (Women-Owned Small Business) issued through the SBA's federal program. Relevant for Kraft Heinz suppliers who also pursue government contracts; the federal WOSB designation is separate from WBENC but is recognized.
SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business), LGBTBE (NGLCC-issued), and DOBE (Disability:IN-issued) are also recognized. Kraft Heinz's public supplier diversity language references the full range of diverse ownership categories, consistent with NMSDC's taxonomy.
If you are pursuing certification for the first time and want to maximize your corporate reach — including Kraft Heinz — NMSDC MBE or WBENC WBE are the two highest-value starting points. Both are recognized by virtually every Fortune 500 with a formal program.
Where and how to register
Kraft Heinz uses Coupa as its procurement platform. New suppliers are onboarded through the Coupa Supplier Portal (CSP), which is the standard entry point for sourcing inquiries and vendor registration across the company's North American operations.
The steps:
- Go to Kraft Heinz's supplier registration page. From the company's procurement landing, you will find a link to the Coupa onboarding form. The URL path has varied, so search "Kraft Heinz supplier registration" or go directly to kraftheinzcompany.com and navigate to the suppliers section.
- Complete your company profile including your legal entity name, DUNS or SAM.gov UEI, and diversity certification number.
- Upload your current certification letter. NMSDC and WBENC certificates include an expiration date, so make sure yours is current before submitting.
- Identify your NAICS codes and the spend categories where your business competes.
Kraft Heinz's procurement team reviews new registrations on a rolling basis. Registration does not guarantee a sourcing event invitation, but it is the required first step. Without a profile in Coupa, you will not be visible when a category manager is building a bidder list.
Also register directly with NMSDC's corporate database (nmsdc.org) and WBENC's WBENCLink platform. Kraft Heinz's supplier diversity team actively pulls from both when sourcing new diverse suppliers for specific categories.
What product and service categories they source
Kraft Heinz's procurement is organized around direct and indirect categories.
Direct materials — ingredients, packaging, and co-manufacturing — represent the largest share of spend and the highest barrier to entry. Getting into direct materials sourcing requires food safety certifications (SQF, BRC, or FSSC 22000 are common requirements), capacity to meet volume and lead time commitments, and often a qualification audit before you appear on a bidder list. This path takes longer but is where the largest contracts sit.
Indirect categories — logistics and transportation, marketing services, professional services, facilities management, IT services, and HR services — offer faster entry points for diverse suppliers who are not in food manufacturing. Kraft Heinz's indirect spend spans most of the categories you would expect from a company of its size: staffing, legal, consulting, printing, advertising, travel, and technology.
Contract manufacturing and co-packing is a distinct opportunity for food manufacturers with underutilized capacity. If you can produce to spec and scale, this is worth exploring directly with the operations procurement team.
Suppliers in marketing services (agencies, design, digital media buying) and professional services (accounting, legal, HR, consulting) have historically found corporate indirect spend categories more accessible as first contracts, because the certification and compliance bar is lower than for food-grade direct materials.
Practical steps for getting a real conversation
Registration gets you in the system. Getting an actual sourcing conversation requires more.
Attend NMSDC's annual conference. Kraft Heinz's supplier diversity and procurement staff attend every year. The conference runs in October and includes a matchmaking session where diverse suppliers get scheduled one-on-one meetings with corporate buyers. This is the single fastest way to go from unknown to a named contact inside Kraft Heinz's procurement function. Registration as an MBE-certified supplier opens the matchmaking track.
Attend WBENC's National Conference and Business Fair, typically in June. WBENC members include a WBE matchmaking event where Kraft Heinz participation is common given its WBENC membership.
Reach out directly to the supplier diversity team. Kraft Heinz publishes supplier diversity contacts through its procurement page. A brief, specific email — your company name, certification type and number, the category you serve, and a one-line value statement — is better than a generic introduction. Lead with what you make or do, not with your certification status. Certification is a qualifier; your capability is the reason to take a meeting.
Get into NMSDC's Corporate Plus pipeline. If you are an MBE with demonstrated scale, the NMSDC Corporate Plus program connects larger certified businesses with corporations that have committed to scaling up spend. Kraft Heinz participates in this pipeline, and a Corporate Plus designation signals that you can handle contract volume that a smaller business might not.
Check for RFP postings. Kraft Heinz occasionally posts sourcing events through its Coupa portal for registered suppliers. Keeping your profile current and your contact information active means you will receive notifications when a category relevant to your business goes out to bid.
Realistic timeline and what to expect
Most diverse suppliers do not land a Kraft Heinz contract in the first year. That is not pessimism; it reflects how procurement cycles work at a company this size.
Certification, if you don't have it, takes three to six months for NMSDC or WBENC, depending on your regional affiliate's queue and how complete your application is. Plan for that before you start pitching.
After registration, expect a 30-to-90-day window before any acknowledgment from the procurement team, and that acknowledgment is usually just confirmation that your profile is active. An actual sourcing conversation typically requires either a conference matchmaking event or a direct warm introduction.
First contracts are often small — a regional pilot, a limited-volume ingredient trial, or a single market for indirect services. This is not unusual. Kraft Heinz's procurement team needs to validate your quality, reliability, and compliance before scaling. Deliver on the pilot. That is how small suppliers become mid-tier suppliers in their system.
The suppliers who move fastest through the process tend to share a few traits: their certification is current and from a recognized body, their Coupa profile is complete with accurate NAICS codes and capacity data, they show up at NMSDC or WBENC events, and they follow up with specific asks rather than generic check-ins.
One more thing worth knowing
Kraft Heinz went through significant restructuring in 2019 and 2020, and its procurement function was reorganized around global category management. The supplier diversity program survived and has been maintained as part of the broader ESG reporting structure. This matters because some suppliers who registered years ago have outdated contacts or inactive profiles. If you previously registered and got no response, it is worth re-registering with a current profile and a fresh certification letter.
The program is real. The spend is tracked. The path in is clear enough that preparation is the main variable.
The corporate programs directory lists Kraft Heinz alongside hundreds of other companies with active supplier diversity programs, with direct links to registration pages and program contacts.
