Mondelēz is stuck on success at import expo
The Mondelēz stand is popular.
International food company Mondelēz said it intends to continue to leverage the China International Import Expo to learn about local trends so it can cater for the latest consumer tastes.
It will have a close eye on relevant snack categories, such as bakery, for potential product expansion, President of Mondelēz China Joost Vlaanderen said.
"It's a good window to see how smaller snack companies are doing and what new ideas they've come up with, and we can also seek potential partnerships and ideas here," Vlaanderen said.
At last year's CIIE it received many queries from visitors regarding a black-colored Clorets chewing gum.
This year it successfully turned that potential business prospect into a new local flavor with the launch of a black-colored Stride chewing gum.
Booming sales
"China's snack market has grown beyond the traditional categories like sweets and biscuits, and we're willing to explore trends and tastes that consumer are interested in," he added.
Snack companies can also become part of a healthy lifestyle with new features such as fewer ingredients and less salt and fat, he noted.
Mondelēz's Tmall Global cross-border online store was unveiled at the previous CIIE. Vlaanderen said the store is also an important channel to test the water for new products.
"We will consider sourcing local material and setting up local production if small-scale sales prove successful to fully boost domestic consumption," he added.
This year all four product categories are present at the CIIE, namely biscuits, chewing gums, sweets/chocolates and powdered drinks.
China online sales climbed at double-digit rates in the second quarter due to a pickup of on-demand delivery, and contributed about 20 percent of its overall sales. The company is also increasing its digital marketing spending.
Mondelēz' biscuits sales through on-demand delivery sites has maintained strong growth especially after the pandemic outbreak, and its chewing gums also maintained the top position in the Tmall supermarket category.
