The snack giant has brought in industry disruptors to create new candy categories.
International food brand giant Mondelez (MDLZ) – Get Free Report may not be a household name in its own right, but plenty of foods in its portfolio certainly are.
The parent of Oreo, Ritz, Cadbury, and Sour Patch Kids is known for its indulgent confections and lunch box staples around the globe. And though it owns dozens of iconic brand names, management thinks it’s time for a change.
Ritz
Mondelez Holds Key Market Share – With Room to Grow
As it stands currently, Mondelez holds the #1 market share position for cookies, biscuits and crackers. These include:
RitzTriscuitOreoBevitaHoney Made graham crackersWheat ThinsChips AhoyClub Social crackersTates Bake Shop cookies
It also holds the #2 market share position for chocolates, which include:
CadburyTobleroneMilkaHu
The company, which owns snacks formerly owned either individually or jointly by Kraft (KHC) – Get Free Report and Nabisco is no small venture. It operates in 80 countries and operates 80,000 production plants and offices worldwide.
It’s also been planning further expansion, betting that, despite grim recent news about heavy metals in chocolate, the snacking trend isn’t going anywhere.
Mondelez Plans First Brand Revamps After Decades
Mondelez is zeroing in on two major candy brands to receive major changes. The company has reportedly “scoured its portfolio” for potential brand disruptors and landed on two legacy chocolates ripe for the task.
The first is Toblerone, a 114-year-old Swiss candy known for its unique triangular shapes and gooey, nutty center has been dubbed “too corporate looking,” and will test its major transformation in key markets in the coming months. Shelves in the U.S. will reportedly begin stocking the newly packed chocolates in late 2023.
Also on the rebrand list is Milka, another Swiss-made chocolate even older than Toblerone (founded in 1901).
“It’s a big move, and big moves can work in our favor but we can also have eggs on our faces,” Milka’s senior direct Amy Tay said.
So Milka did what any company that wants to get in touch with its consumer base does. It talked to them.
It found that, as a whole, its consumers wanted the chocolate to be softer and creamier, have less sugar and source its ingredients sustainably.
So it’s started implementing these changes, complete with a stamped icon of its cow mascot on every chocolate bar. It’ll also make its individual chocolate pieces softer with a more “pillow-shaped top,” to convey the bar as “gentle and humble.”
Something Mondelez hopes isn’t so humble: the chocolate’s sales following the reboot. So far, it claims sales have been up and the candies are getting better placement in stores.
