Kraft Heinz and The Walt Disney Company Unite with ‘Together at Last’ Campaign

Kraft Heinz and The Walt Disney Company have established a long-term, multi-year strategic alliance. From theme park dining and Disney Cruise Line to streaming and media, the alliance will connect with families wherever they engage with Disney.

Launching alongside the partnership is a 360-degree campaign from Rethink and Felon Studios director Matt Baron. Titled ‘Together at Last’, the work centres around authentic family mealtime moments, leveraging this newly combined equity to reimagine iconic Disney scenes with assorted Kraft Heinz products.


“Kraft Heinz and Disney are two companies that are woven into the fabric of family life,” says Nicolas Amaya, president of North America at Kraft Heinz Company. “For generations, families have grown up with our brands side by side – watching Disney favourites with a bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese, or reaching for HEINZ at the table. This alliance is about showing up together in the moments that matter most – whether at the parks or at home – to deliver elevated experiences and storytelling that turn everyday meals into memories that last a lifetime.”

Spanning Disney’s North American parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line, and Disney’s studios and streaming platforms, this partnership will see Kraft Heinz and Disney present new menu offerings, bespoke guest experiences, and storytelling-driven offerings, inspired by the latter’s beloved franchises.

Along with access to 10 Kraft Heinz brands (including HEINZ, Philadelphia, and Kraft Mac & Cheese), this relationship will also spur the debut of new condiment stations and custom-designed equipment throughout the parks. However, for Becca Vodnoy, SVP of corporate alliances at The Walt Disney Company, one of the most exciting prospects is the renewed opportunity to engage with families and fans across meals, moments and memories.

"Disney Corporate Alliances is focused on working with iconic brands with shared values to create meaningful experiences that bring families closer to the stories and places they love,” she explains. “The collaboration with Kraft Heinz is the perfect demonstration of another brand that understands how families connect through everyday moments, and together we will build creative experiences for our consumers across our destinations, platforms, and fan touchpoints.”

A Natural Alignment

Uniting Kraft Heinz and Disney was not a simple task, given the depth and history each legacy brand carries. However, according to Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer at Kraft Heinz Company, there was a degree of natural alignment between the two, even from the get-go.

“As we looked at how families are spending time together today, we saw a clear opportunity to create experiences that extend beyond the screen and into the everyday moments that matter most to our consumers,” he says. “[This] collaboration gives us the ability to think bigger than a single campaign, and activate across many different touchpoints.”

Spreading the word tastefully was another matter. Given the scale of the announcement – from both a marketing and cultural perspective – both sides felt it was important to avoid blatant product placement and storytelling for the sake of visibility alone.

Rather, the aim was to ensure the integration felt authentic, and rooted in moments fans already have a real connection with – an ethos which guided the hero film’s creation process.

“We grounded the creative in a universal truth that sits at the heart of both brands: the kitchen table as a place where everyday moments become meaningful memories,” the CMO continues. “We wanted to bring both brands into the kitchen and capture the magic that happens when people come together over a meal with loved ones.

“At its core, the strategy [was] to enhance these moments – not interrupt them. By thoughtfully integrating our brands across beloved Disney characters and stories, we’re creating experiences that delight consumers while staying true to the equity of both companies.”

Crucial in this ambition was Rethink, which Todd credits for evoking the “kinds of memories both brands have helped create for generations”. Also wanting the announcement campaign to feel less like an ad, and more like a series of moments Disney fans would naturally care about, for the creative team, it was all about showing what happens when two iconic companies come together.

“The HEINZ bottle lift mimicking the Simba lift from ‘The Lion King’ became the launching point for the spot, since it naturally brings together the two iconic brands in one action,” reveals Shannon McCarroll, creative director at Rethink. “From there, we treated the kitchen like a stage for discovery.”

The result was the film feeling like an uninterrupted journey, complete with hidden surprises along the way. Crafted, as creative director Skye Deluz teases, to reward repeat watchers, the work nevertheless captured the spirit of this collaboration immediately, showing viewers that this isn’t two brands borrowing from one another, but two worlds naturally coexisting.

Such a philosophy was applied to the OOH creation process as well. Needing to distil the film’s messaging into single frames – all while maintaining a degree of artistic restraint – each was refined until the Disney references and Kraft Heinz products came across as equals, yet still celebrated the “nostalgia, familiarity and joy” both brands have shared over generations.

“Every piece started with the question: ‘What if Kraft Heinz products had always existed in the Disney universe?’,” Skye adds. “Rather than recreating famous movie scenes, we looked for opportunities where a product could become an essential part of an iconic Disney moment. Sometimes that meant replacing a recognisable prop, while other times it meant using the product itself to recreate an instantly recognisable visual. The process became part creative exploration, part puzzle-solving – searching through decades of Disney storytelling to find pairings that felt both surprising and inevitable.”

‘Together at Last’ is only one piece in the larger puzzle, however. While all involved are eager to see which moments resonate with fans, the real excitement for both the agency and brands lies in tapping into the creative possibilities this collaboration has unlocked for the future.

“What I’m most proud of is that this announcement is just the beginning,” Todd emphasises. “It’s the start of a long-term platform for creativity and connection. From day one, we set out to build something that feels bigger than a traditional brand collaboration or a simple logo placement by bringing together two companies with deep cultural relevance and a shared commitment to creating joyful moments for families. This collaboration gives us an exciting runway to continue surprising and delighting consumers, whether they’re experiencing Disney destinations or making memories at home.”

And, while the CMO notes that specific menu item announcements and guest dining experience reveals aren’t on the cards quite yet, he reinforces that Kraft Heinz’s hope is to build meaningful connection with consumers – all of whom are invited to keep an eye on the space.

“The alliance has many surprises in store for guests planning their visits to Disney’s beloved properties,” he concludes. “As an early taste of what’s to come, HEINZ will give fans the first opportunity to try four new sauces: ‘Heinz Blackberry Bourbon BBQ’, ‘Heinz Orange Mojo’, ‘Heinz Brauhaus Mustard’, and ‘Heinz Maple Sweet Chili’ at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. And I can’t wait to see what our teams dream up next; we’re truly just getting started.”