Mondelez International this year continued its nontraditional work with tech-savvy startups by including retailers such as 7-Eleven, Mac’s, Kum & Go and QuickChek in the process.
Through an initiative it began in 2012, Mondelez recently winnowed down a number of competing startups to fınalists that would work with their in-house snack-and-candy brand teams and eight retailers. The hope for the program, which it calls “Shopper Futures,” is to develop potential new technology applications that would boost consumer affınity and purchase.
Retailers, particularly impulse-heavy c-stores, play an important role, says Kim Yansen, director of fıeld shopper marketing.
“Our categories are not planned purchases,” she says. “So when people park and go inside, we have to … make sure they buy something and lift the category for retailers.”
In a process that began this summer, startups and retailers—including supermarkets and bigboxes—met with brand teams from Mondelez to develop solutions over 90 days. They then would undergo fıeld testing to see if they could become viable.
Some of the startups include Turnstyle Solutions, a customer analytics and loyalty company based in Toronto; Freckle IoT, a beacon-technology fırm also in Toronto; and Earshot, a location-based technology company in Chicago.
One of the effort’s goals is inspirational. Yansen says teams will “immerse themselves in the culture of a startup … so you get each perspective and build something powerful together.”
Mondelez’s brands include Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; Trident gum; and Tang beverages.
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