Why This “Perfect” Merger Went Wrong

February 21st, 2026· 18K views· 1:15
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The Hustle

Kraft Heinz looked unstoppable after its $45B merger in 2015. But aggressive cost-cutting and underinvestment in innovation hollowed out the business as consumer tastes changed. By 2018, the company announced $10.2B in operating loss and a $15.4B write down. It’s a textbook example of how efficiency without growth can break even the biggest companies. Subscribe to The Hustle: 🔗 https://clickhubspot.com/vu3l Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping 2M+ innovators in the loop 🔗 https://clickhubspot.com/3kln About HubSpot: HubSpot is a customer platform that provides education, software, and support to help businesses grow better. The platform includes marketing, sales, service, commerce, operations, and website management products that start free and scale to meet our customers’ needs at any stage of growth. Today, thousands of customers around the world use HubSpot’s powerful and easy-to-use tools and apps to attract, engage, and delight customers. #TheHustle #HubSpot