Mondelez plans to bring in more snack products to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Snack food company Mondelez International Inc. is looking to expand its product portfolio in the Philippines, particularly biscuits, chocolate, gum and candies to take advantage of the increasing demand and to continue to grow its sales.

“From our perspective, we want to develop here more chocolate and biscuits and gum and candy, if we can,” Mondelez global chairman and chief executive officer Dirk Van de Put told reporters.

He said the biscuit, chocolate and gum and candy categories are the strongest segments for the company globally.

“We are strongest in those categories worldwide. That’s where we really have most investments for R&D (research and development). We want to make sure we are well represented,” he said.

At present, the biggest categories for Mondelez in the Philippines are powdered beverages and cheese.

Powdered beverage Tang is Mondelez’s best selling product, followed by Eden cheese.

Both brands currently hold the top position in their respective markets in the Philippines.

“So, it’s a little bit upside down which for us means we have huge opportunities for chocolates (and biscuits) here in the country,” Van de Put said.

He said the Philippines is an important market for Mondelez given consumers’ strong snacking demand and habit.

Data from Nielsen Retail Audit showed that as of March this year, the snacks category in the Philippines posted double-digit growth.

Van de Put said snacking is growing as consumers are becoming busier and are always on the go.

“If you think about the consumer here (in the Philippines), the consumer is already snacking quite a lot, about six smaller meals during the day which is more than in most countries. Snacking itself is quite developed. We see prosperity, income per capita going up. So, we expect our business will continue to grow and accelerate in the Philippines,” he said.

Last year, he said the firm’s business in the Philippines posted double-digit growth, outpacing the mid-single digit growth seen for the whole of Southeast Asia.

As Mondelez is offering products online through retail partners, there are also opportunities for the company to grow its sales in the country through e-commerce.

Mondelez, which is behind the brands Cheez Whiz spread, Oreo cookies, Tiger biscuits, BelVita breakfast biscuits, as well as Toblerone and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates, is present in over 150 countries.

In the Philippines, Mondelez has been providing snacks to consumers since 1963.

It has a manufacturing facility in Parañaque City for Eden cheese and employs about 450 individuals.