CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 3, 2026--
Kraft Natural Cheese, a leader in the cheese industry, delivering exceptional quality and flavor for snack and mealtimes, today announced the launch of Kraft Natural Cheese Protein Cheese Sticks, a cheese snack designed to meet growing consumer demand for convenient, protein enhanced snack options.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203390603/en/
Available in two classic varieties— Mild Cheddar and Pepper Jack —each stick delivers 17 grams of protein per serving and contains 50% less fat than Kraft Natural Cheese’s traditional Mild Cheddar and Pepper Jack Cheese varieties.
“Today’s consumers want snacks that work as hard as they do, in an approachable format that’s easy for them to incorporate into their daily routines,” said Amanda Vaal, Director of Brand Marketing at Lactalis Heritage Dairy, a division of Lactalis USA. “Our new Kraft Natural Cheese Protein Sticks meets these needs, by delivering familiar taste people love in a traditional cheese stick and 17g of protein per serving to keep consumers energized and ready for anything.”
Kraft Natural Cheese Protein Sticks are designed for versatility, making them an ideal choice for lunchboxes, workday snacking and pre or post workouts at home or on the go. A good source of protein paired with the trusted quality of Kraft Natural Cheese that consumers have loved for more than 100 years
Kraft Natural Cheese Protein Sticks are now available at select retailers, including Target, Publix, Food Lion, Hy-Vee, ShopRite, Meijer and Amazon Fresh, with additional retailers to follow.
For more information about Kraft Natural Cheese, find recipe inspiration and locate a store near you, visit KraftNaturalCheese.com or follow the brand on Instagram @kraft.naturalcheese.
About Kraft Natural Cheese
Kraft Natural Cheese has been a trusted household name since 1904, delivering exceptional quality and flavor to mealtimes around the world. With a commitment to craftsmanship and innovation, Kraft Natural Cheese continues to be the go-to choice for families and food enthusiasts alike with its broad portfolio of natural cheeses including shreds, chunks and slices. As part of the Lactalis Heritage Dairy portfolio of brands, Kraft Natural Cheese has more than 150+ years of combined dairy experience reflected in its cheesemaking. For more information and for recipe inspiration, visit www.kraftnaturalcheese.com or follow the brand on Instagram @kraft.naturalcheese.
About Lactalis USA
Lactalis USA is committed to enriching lives by producing nutritious and great-tasting dairy products. The company offers an unrivaled house of beloved dairy brands in the United States including Galbani ® Italian cheeses, Président ® specialty cheeses and gourmet butters, Kraft ® brands in natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s ® cottage cheese, ricotta and sour cream, Cracker Barrel ® cheese, Black Diamond ® cheddar cheese, Parmalat ® milk, yogurt brands such as siggi’s ®, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Green Mountain Creamery ®, Mountain High, Yoplait ®, Go-Gurt ®, :ratio ®, Oui ® and Karoun ®, Gopi ®, Arz ® and other brands in the ethnic channel.
In the United States the company has approximately 5,000 employees, with 13 manufacturing facilities located in 9 states, and corporate offices in New York City, San Fernando, Calif., Chicago, Ill., Minneapolis, Minn., Buffalo, N.Y. and Bedford, N.H. Lactalis USA is part of Lactalis Group, the world’s leading dairy company, a French family business founded in 1933 in Laval, France.
For more information about Lactalis USA’s divisions, visit www.lactalisamericangroup.com, www.lactalisheritagedairy.com, www.lactalisyogurtusa.com, www.midwestyogurt.com and www.karouncheese.com. Follow Lactalis USA on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
Kraft Natural Cheese, a leader in the cheese industry, delivering exceptional quality and flavor for snack and mealtimes, today announced the launch of Kraft Natural Cheese Protein Cheese Sticks, a cheese snack designed to meet growing consumer demand for convenient, protein enhanced snack options.
NEW YORK (AP) — A surge for Intel following a blowout profit report is leading technology stocks higher Friday, while oil prices keep swinging in the wait for what’s next with the Iran war.
The S&P 500 added 0.5% and rose above its all-time high set on Wednesday, even though the majority of stocks within the index fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 197 points, or 0.4%, as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.
Intel led the way and is potentially heading for its best day since 1987. It jumped 23.9% after reporting much stronger results for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the next wave of artificial-intelligence technology is increasing the need for Intel’s chips and products, and the company’s forecast for profit in the spring topped analysts’ estimates.
Such strong profit reports have helped Wall Street rally to records, and the S&P 500 has leaped more than 12% in a little under a month. Hopes have also built in financial markets that the United States and Iran can find a way to avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy because of their war.
A ceasefire is tenuously in place between the two, but tensions between them are still keeping oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
Oil prices climbed this week on worries about the strait, but a potentially encouraging signal came Friday after Iran’s top diplomat said he was heading to Pakistan. That's where officials have been trying to get the United States and Iran to convene for a second round of ceasefire negotiations.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June yo-yoed between roughly $103 and $107 in the morning and most recently was up 0.6% at $105.71. The price for a barrel of Brent oil delivered in July, which is where more of the trading is happening in the market, added 0.2% to $99.59.
On Wall Street, Procter & Gamble rose 3.9% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Shailesh Jejurikar said it saw broad-based growth across regions and products, which include Bounty paper towels and Tide detergent.
That helped offset a drop of 23.7% for Charter Communications, whose profit for the latest quarter came in weaker than analysts expected. It lost 120,000 internet customers during the three months, more than some analysts expected.
Hartford Insurance Group fell 1.6% after reporting profit growth for the latest quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a report said sentiment among U.S. consumers remains sour. A survey by the University of Michigan found weaker sentiment in April across political party, income, age, and education, though it improved a bit after the ceasefire in the war with Iran was announced earlier in the month.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 4.31% from 4.34% late Thursday.
Investors are also betting again on the possibility that the Federal Reserve could resume its cuts to interest rates later this year. The path appeared to clear Friday for President Donald Trump's nominee to chair the Fed, Kevin Warsh, after the U.S. Justice Department ended its probe into the Fed's current chair, Jerome Powell.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he would oppose Warsh until the investigation was resolved, effectively blocking his confirmation. Warsh is the choice of Trump, who has been arguing loudly for lower interest rates.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7% for two of the world’s bigger moves.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Options trader Matthew Hefter, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist John Parisi works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
