Dive Brief:
- Mondelez has debuted a new line of better-for-you savory snacks, Good Thins, the company's first new snack brand in more than a decade.
- In the snack line's eight varieties, the base ingredients are either potatoes, chickpeas, or rice (for gluten-free versions). Flavors include spinach and garlic, sweet potato, and poppy and sesame seed.
- Absent from Good Thins' ingredients lists are artificial colors and flavors, cholesterol, PHOs, and high fructose corn syrup.
Dive Insight:
In the growth strategy Mondelez outlined last September, the company committed to having healthy snack sales generate half of revenue in the next five years, up from one-third as of the time of the announcement. That revenue will primarily come from three sources: making current products "healthier," such as by removing artificial colors; acquiring companies that make healthy snacks, such as Enjoy Life Foods; and creating new health-focused product lines.
The release of Good Thins could be just the beginning for this branch of Mondelez's strategy to expand its healthy snacks portfolio. Mondelez has been capitalizing on the "thins" trend currently popular in healthy snacks, with Oreo Thins and Wheat Thins Even Thinner.
Many of the better-for-you snacks from major manufacturers have been products from companies they acquired or tweaked versions of legacy brands rather than new brands developed from scratch. Mondelez's Good Thins release signals the role new product and brand R&D will play as large manufacturers work to keep up with trends.