#Mac and cheese gets Cheetos collab, Kraft breakfast rebrand 

Cheetos Mac ‘N Cheese quietly launched this month.
Cheetos

This week brought two big announcements for the comfort food: a fusion concept with Cheetos, and Kraft’s attempt at rebranding the American staple as a breakfast-appropriate dish.

The new Cheetos Mac ‘N Cheese line was quietly rolled out this month and first spotted by snack influencers at Walmart. “Found these today at @walmart and I think they were less than $1,” posted one junk food fan on Instagram with two of the product’s three flavors — Bold & Cheesy, Flamin’ Hot and Cheesy Jalapeño. “These are instant Mac and cheese boxes and they sound delicious!”

Another user recommended fans “crumble different Cheetos product over” their Cheetos Mac ‘N Cheese.

“Beginning August 8, fans can pick up Cheetos Mac ‘n Cheese in both single box and cup format at Walmart stores nationally or online for a suggested retail price of 98 cents,” parent brand PepsiCo wrote in a press release Wednesday. The product initially will only be available in the US at Walmart, but will roll out to other retailers in 2021.

Also this week, Kraft Heinz announced it is rebranding its Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner as a breakfast meal, removing “Dinner” from the iconic blue box for the first time in the product’s history. The move, the company said, was inspired by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Fifty-six percent of parents have served their kids Mac & Cheese for breakfast more often during COVID-19 related state lockdowns than previous months,” Kraft wrote in a press release. “So for the first time, Kraft is replacing ‘dinner’ with ‘breakfast’ on their iconic blue box of macaroni & cheese because it’s acceptable to enjoy deliciously cheesy Kraft Mac & Cheese for breakfast — or any time of day.”

Breakfast has proved a rare bright spot for advertisers amid a general slump.

“With Americans settling in and establishing new routines working from home, people will be consuming much more breakfast at their kitchen table,” Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar, which tracks the industry, told The Post in April. “In fact, we predict there will be a race to capture all the new demand and lock in new customers.”