When you miscalculate the value of brands — a rare cautionary tale from Warren Buffett

Rita McGrath
7 min readMar 26, 2024

Some things in strategy are thought to be eternally valuable. Among them? Big global brands with years of mass-market advertising and great name recognition behind them. But as investors 3G and Warren Buffett have learned, advantages can erode without investment. Exhibit A: Kraft-Heinz.

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Rita McGrath

Columbia Business School Professor. Thinkers50 top 10 & #1 in strategy. Bestselling author of The End of Competitive Advantage & Seeing Around Corners.