Mondelez International: American Multinational Snack and Food Company
Mondelez International is an American multinational snack and food company based in East Hanover, New Jersey. It is the world’s largest maker of chocolate, biscuits, candy, gum, and instant snacks. Formerly part of Kraft Foods, Mondelez International was formed in October 2012 as a spin-off of the snack business of Kraft Foods. It began trading on the Nasdaq on July 1, 2013. It is a Fortune 500 company and its 2020 revenue was $26.99 billion.
History
Mondelez International traces its origins to the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco)— the first major American manufacturer of packaged food. It was founded on April 5, 1898, when the owners of the five largest biscuit bakeries in the United States merged in Newark, New Jersey. Over the next century, Nabisco bakery products quickly gained popularity and expanded their offerings to cakes, cookies, crackers and gum.
In 2001, Nabisco’s US biscuit operations were acquired by Kraft Foods, forming an even larger food company. In 2007, the company changed its name to Kraft Foods, Inc. to better reflect its global reach, and two years later renamed its snack division as Mondelez International— an amalgam of “monde,” the Latin word for world, and “delicious” in French.
In October 2012, Kraft Foods split into two independent companies— Mondelez International and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. As a result of their split, Mondelez International was established as an independent, publicly traded company. It began trading on the Nasdaq on July 1, 2013.
Products
Mondelez International is one of the world’s largest snack food makers with a portfolio of iconic brands including:
Chocolate: Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, Toblerone, Oreo, and Cadbury Bournvita
Biscuits: Oreo, belVita, LU, and TUC
Baking: Philadelphia cream cheese, Jacobs, Miracel Whip, and Cadbury baking
Gums and Candies: Trident, Halls, Stride, Bubbaloo, Chiclets and Maynards
Coffee: Jacobs, Gevalia, and Carte Noire
Marketing and Packaging
Mondelez International is committed to sustainable packaging, including reducing the amount of packaging and phasing out single-use plastics by end of 2025, finding innovative ways to package snack and grocery products, and championing responsible sourcing of sustainable packaging materials. The company is actively exploring the use of sustainable alternatives to plastics from paper to bioplastics.
The company is also committed to boost marketing that reflects modern society by representing the diversity of females, including all ages, races, cultures and body types. Mondelez International aims to ensure that at least 50% of its global advertising resources are allocated to portray all types of female representations by the end of 2020.
Sustainability
Mondelez International focuses on sustainability initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of its operations. Its goals include transitioning to renewable energy sources by end of 2020, committing to zero-net deforestation in cocoa supply chain and pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030.
The company has made progress in achieving sustainability goals, such as increasing renewable energy to 28% and reducing greenhouse gases by 1.2 million metric tons in 2019. It has also invested in innovative crop intensification to reduce food waste and improve the income of smallholder farmers. As part of its Deforestation-Free Cocoa commitment, the company is working towards 100% certified sustainable cocoa by 2025.
In 2019, Mondelez International announced a new ambition to achieve zero-net waste by 2025 across its global operations, and increase recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging to 75% by 2025.
Mondelez International is one of the largest snack and food companies that have innovative and sustainable practices to reduce environmental impacts, strengthen the cocoa supply chain, and enhance marketing campaigns to reflect the modern society. From iconic brands such as Oreo, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Orion, to sustainable practices such as renewable energy and zero-net waste, Mondelez International is a great example of a leader in snack and food industry.
