Kraft Mac & Cheese Releases Pink, Candy-Flavored Pasta for Valentine's Day

Mike Pomranz
·2 min read
Pink Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
Pink Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Courtesy of Kraft

Long an unassuming powerhouse in the boxed meal game, recently, Kraft Mac & Cheese has been making its presence felt by jumping on the headline-grabbing stunt bandwagon. In August, every kid's favorite dinner announced it was changing its name to Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Breakfast. Then, in September, Kraft brought an official pumpkin spice version of their Mac & Cheese to the States.

So how does Kraft plan on surprising us in 2021? Well, Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and the cheesy brand is here with a perfectly unexpected tie-in: limited-edition Candy Kraft Mac & Cheese—which, by the way, is actual macaroni and cheese with a wild Valentine's twist.

Though the name "Candy Kraft Mac & Cheese" might imply that this mac and cheese is a box of literal candy, that's far from the case. As Kraft explains, "Candy Kraft Mac & Cheese is made with the same cheesy Kraft Mac & Cheese Americans know and love, but includes a candy flavor packet to turn the mac & cheese pink and add hints of sweet candy flavor." Yes, this is a regular pasta dinner with a touch of decidedly Valentine's Day candy-inspired sweetness.

"After our success with Pumpkin Spice Kraft Mac & Cheese in the fall, we had our eye on what to do next," Martina Davis, brand manager at Kraft Heinz, told me. "We're always up for a challenge, so for Valentine's Day we thought it would be fun to partner with our Canadian counterparts to change the color AND taste of classic Mac & Cheese by turning it pink and adding a bit of sweet candy flavor to celebrate the holiday."

As should be the case with anything sweet, Kraft doesn't want to overdo it, so you can't buy Candy Kraft Mac & Cheese in stores. Instead, from now until February 8, interested fans need to go to CandyKraftMacandCheese.com to enter a random drawing. Kraft says 1,000 winners will be selected and have one box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and one candy packet to turn the Mac & Cheese pink delivered to their door by February 14.

"No more noodling on what gift to buy," Kraft wrote in the announcement. "There is no better way to show your love this Valentine's Day than saying 'you're the mac to my cheese.'" And yet, since winners won't be picked until after February 8, it's probably a good idea to have a backup Valentine's gift waiting in case you don't win. Actually, depending on how serious your significant other takes Valentine's Day, it might be a good idea to have a backup gift waiting regardless.