DEERFIELD, Ill. -- As part of its mission to “lead the future of snacking,” Mondelez International is launching an innovation hub called SnackFutures to capitalize on evolving consumer trends and emerging growth opportunities. The hub, which is set to debut this November, will focus on three objectives:
- Invention of new brands and businesses in key strategic areas.
- Reinvention of small-scale Mondelez brands with large-scale potential.
- Venturing with startup entrepreneurs to seed new businesses.
Mondelez foresees SnackFutures contributing $100 million to its total revenue by 2022.
“Discovering and unleashing innovative ideas in snacking that will delight consumers and drive growth is a key element of our new strategy,” said Tim Cofer, executive vice president and chief growth officer of Mondelez. “We are launching SnackFutures, a new forward-thinking innovation hub, to capitalize on new trends and mobilize entrepreneurial talent and technologies to build and grow small brands with large-scale potential. SnackFutures will unlock snacking growth opportunities around the world that respond to emerging trends and changing consumer preferences.”
Cofer, who is spearheading SnackFutures, will be joined by a team of experts in brand marketing, consumer insights, research and development, innovation and corporate development. Mondelez looks to partner with a variety of entrepreneurs, suppliers, nutritionists and food and technology engineers for SnackFuture’s early innovation projects, which will cover three areas: well-being snacks and ingredients, premium snacks and ingredients, and digital platforms and capabilities.
Since 2017, Mondelez’s “well-being” brands and portion-control snacks—treats that are individually wrapped and/or less than 200 calories—have grown at twice the rate of the company's base portfolio, garnering nearly 13% of its current revenue, according to the company. In early October, Mondelez vowed to make 100% of its packaging recyclable within the next seven years.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Mondelez International is a global snacking company operating in 160 countries with about $26 billion in net revenue in 2017. The company manufactures biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages; its products include BelVita, Chips Ahoy, Oreo, Nabisco, Cadbury, Jacobs coffee, Tang powdered beverages and Trident gum.
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