Embattled Kraft Heinz reveals stunt to pay for your Mother's Day babysitter
Kraft Heinz is hoping a new Mother's Day stunt revealed on Tuesday will deflect news coverage of the food maker's plan to restate more than two years of financial results after some of its employees engaged in misconduct.
The stunt, dubbed Kraft's Mother's Day Away, will give moms up to $100 of their babysitting bill on Mother's Day in an effort to give them more "me-time." The food company said it plans to give 500 mothers across the country a chance to win.
To participate, mothers across the U.S. only will have to submit their Mother's Day babysitting bills at www.kraftmothersdayaway.com to claim their refund. The company said it plans to give out $50,000 worth of refunds.
The stunt comes following a slew of other big PR campaigns from the food giant over the last year.
In January, Kraft opened a free pop-up shop in Washington, D.C., to offer a helping hand to furloughed federal workers. Its store, called "Kraft Now Pay Later," allowed federal workers to stock up on the company's staples such as its famous mac-and-cheese mix and other items for free.
Also, last June, it announced its Country Time Lemonade unit will defend and pay for any fines related to children-run lemonade stands getting shut down for not having a permit.
The PR stunts come as the packaged food retailer revealed Monday that it has received two subpoenas related to its procurement practices and plans to restate earnings from 2016 and 2017 as well as part of 2018. Additionally, its stock has dropped more than 20 percent this year as a result.
Warren Buffett, a key investor in Kraft Heinz, told FOX Business on Saturday that he thinks he "paid too much for Kraft" during its merger with Heinz in 2015.
Buffett added that losses from Kraft Heinz battered Berkshire's fourth-quarter earnings at the end of February, during which the conglomerate posted a rare $3.02 billion write-down that Buffett said was “almost entirely attributable” to its significant stake in Kraft Heinz.