At-home workers like to snack

Millions of Americans worked at home in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many US companies will let them do so in the new year, some permanently even after the pandemic is over.

Now to meet increased consumption of many food products at home and anticipating that the trend will continue, some companies are increasing production capacities while others are spending millions to expand production of such things as cold cuts and popcorn to lunch meals and toilet paper.

According to market research firm Nielsen, as of November compared with 2019, consumption of microwave popcorn and paper towels has gone up by close to 30 percent, macaroni and cheese meals up by 28 percent, and bath tissue and frozen prepared food up by more than 20 percent.

Kimberly-Clark Corp, producer of Scott toilet paper, has spent $150 million to upgrade its mill in Chester, Pennsylvania, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. It now produces 2 million rolls of bath tissue per day — averaging 1,389 rolls per minute.

Procter & Gamble, maker of Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels, while not making extra investment in paper production for the new year, already had increased its paper capacity by 20 percent in 2020. It has invested to produce more personal grooming products such as Gillette razors and shaving cream.

Kraft Heinz found it couldn't make mac and cheese fast enough earlier during the pandemic. The company noticed that demand for ketchup and Kool-Aid was also up sharply as pandemic fears sent consumers into a stockpiling frenzy.

It revamped its production lines and increased production of Kraft Mac & Cheese cups, Oscar Mayer cold cuts and Philadelphia cream cheese by 20 percent during the pandemic. Now Kraft Heinz is spending $100 million to increase production for 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"This is a business that has been relatively flat for a while at best," Adam Butler, president of Kraft's Easy Meals Made Better division, told the Journal. "Now we want to double down on it."

The newspaper reported that Conagra is adding a manufacturing line at an Iowa factory to substantially increase its capacity to make Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's and other frozen meals. The company also has invested to increase production of Orville Redenbacher and Act II popcorn at an Indiana factory, predicting people will continue watching movies at home instead of in theaters.

Major food producer Campbell Soup reported sales increased 21 percent in its quarter ended in November. The company has added capacity for high-demand items such as its Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, expecting people will continue to eat more at home.

General Mills made a move in September to expand its plant in Covington, Georgia, to make more Cinnamon Toast Crunch, one of its best-selling cereals.

Griffin Bell, senior associate brand manager for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, said in a posting on the company's blog "Taste of General Mills" that Cinnamon Toast Crunch "has a strong runway for growth" during the pandemic.

"This new line will give us the opportunity to expand our capacity and accelerate the brand," Bell said in the post.

A survey by Global Work Place Analytics estimated that more than half — 56 percent — of US jobs are compatible with remote work. It predicted that 25-30 percent of the workforce will work at home on a multiple-days-a-week basis by the end of 2021, while that number before the pandemic was only 3.6 percent.

J.M. Smucker Co Chief Operating Officer John Brase told the Journal: "We would be crazy not to be opportunistic."

Smucker's coffee sales increased by more than 20 percent in 2020. As a result, the company has restarted idle machines and retrofitted others to make varieties of Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts coffee that meet the need of people working from home instead of in an office.