Mondelez International is stepping up its investments and innovation in marketing and product development. The Kraft global-snacks spinoff may have stumbled a bit since its Oct. 1st debut as a new company on the world stage. But give it time.

Today it's hosting a Mobile Futures conference (follow on Twitter at #MobileFutures), taking pitches from "SoLoMo, mobile at retail, and social TV" startups as part of its commitment, under digital strategist Bonin Bough, to invest in mobile startups.

The company aso is crowdsourcing ideas for creating a new chocolate bar "that would deliver a fresh and unique experience to the chocolate lover" through its Cadbury, Milka and other confectionery brands. "Of particular interest are cutting-edge product concepts that expand upon the special qualities that make the chocolate bar so wonderful, comforting and fun to eat," a Mondelez press release put it.Continue reading...

One of the main reasons for Kraft to split into its new Kraft Foods and Mondelez International units was to free the latter to pursue the beckoning opportunities in the global snacking business without being tied down to the slower-growth, mature North American groceries business, which now alone comprises Kraft Foods.

But in the early going, at least, both newly independent entities are pursuing something of the same strategy to tap into their separate growth opportunities: paring back non-performing, small or relatively insignificant brands, and applying innovation resources and expansion ambitions to brands that have a chance to make the most of them.

Mondelez, for example, already has said that it may divest some products as it seeks to streamline its range. The company will pursue a "simplification agenda," Tom Cofer, head of Europe for Mondelez, confirmed to Bloomberg.Continue reading...

Scoff all you want. Kraft Foods is going for it. The company is splitting into two public entities and one half of it — its global snacks business — will be known as Mondelēz International. 

The shareholder vote at the company's May 23rd annual general meeting on the name change wasn’t even close, either. More than 90 percent of those who voted gave the new name the OK, according to a press release.

The word Mondelēz, selected from an internal employee competition, is a "portmanteau" combination of the Latin word for world (“monde”) and “delez,” which is supposed to suggest deliciousness. Sticking "International" on at the tail end gives it that global feel the company is in search of.Continue reading...

Kraft Foods, the world’s second largest food producer, has announced the results of a survey mapping its total environmental footprint: the company’s effect on climate, land and water and its focus on sustainable agriculture.

"Experts say climate change, land and water use may be among the biggest challenges in feeding a world of 9 billion people in 2050,” explains Roger Zellner, Sustainability Director for Research, Development & Quality at Kraft Foods. "Having the 'big picture' of our total footprint — from farm to fork — validates the focus of our sustainability efforts, particularly advancing sustainable agriculture."

Serving 170 countries with highly visible and popular brands including Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Tang and Trident, Kraft has stepped up its sustainability commitment in a footprint that spans and effects the globe. So how's it doing?Continue reading...

The world's second largest food company (annual revenues of about $49 billion) is home to eleven billion-dollar iconic brands: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, and Trident.

But what about Kraft's smaller brands, at risk of being sent to the glue factory because of flagging consumer interest or meager ad budgets?Continue reading...