Snack brand Mondelēz to further cater to local tastes

Snacking company Mondelēz China said it will continue fostering growth for its brands like Oreo, Pacific biscuits and Stride in China.

"We're also continuously investing to raise sales through e-commerce channels and looking for a trigger for impulse purchase for product categories such as chewing gums through these channels," Mondelēz China managing director Joost Vlaanderen said. 

Vlaanderen said the China management team has been formulating a "long-term growth strategy" since he took office three months ago, he told a media interview yesterday.

Mondelēz' biscuit brand LU will offer gift boxes during the mid-autumn festival period this year to cater to local trends in terms of taste and packaging after it started to sell Oreo Mooncake that came in boxes last year. 

Globally, its e-commerce sales in the second quarter climbed 45 percent from a year earlier. 

"Eventually we're eyeing US$1 billion in e-commerce sales volume globally by 2020, and China is obviously leading global market growth," Vlaanderen added. 

It's also seeking to grow sales through new retail channels by working with Internet companies and also leveraging their merchandising networks to reach lower tier distributors.

Earlier this year, the company said it had unveiled its global Technical Center in Suzhou, in neighbouring Jiangsu Province, to strengthen its product research and development efforts in China, which is part of its network of research, development and innovation in nine locations around the world.

Vice president of marketing for Gum, Candy & Powder Beverage at Mondelēz China, Heddy Yuan, said the company's chewing gum brand Stride has been growing in double digits since its debut on the Chinese market six years ago.