Dive Brief:
- Mark Clouse, Mondelez International's chief growth officer, outlined the company's plans, which include increased spending for advertising, expansion of healthier product offerings, and expansion of Mondelez's e-commerce business.
- Mondelez will boost ad spending to 10% of revenue by 2018, up from 8% today. The company has also set a goal for growing its e-commerce business from $100 million today to $1 billion in 2020.
- While Mondelez currently generates about one-third of its revenue from snacks from its healthier line, the company plans to increase that number to one-half of revenue in the next five years.
Dive Insight:
Mondelez has been focused on cutting costs and boosting profit margins since it split from Kraft in 2012, but it was unclear where those savings would be invested until now. Clouse said "the approach involves changing existing products to suit consumer needs and moving into new markets and categories that offer growth potential," Reuters reported. That includes moves like its acquisition of free-from snacks maker Enjoy Life Foods in February.
The announcement follows pressure from activist investor William Ackman, who declared his $5.5 billion stake in the company over the summer, which was perceived as a signal to Mondelez to either cut costs further or sell itself. With these plans for growth, it appears Mondelez may have other strategies in mind.
However, while Mondelez says it will be boosting ad spending, last month, the company also announced changes to its North America marketing department, which could lead to job cuts and other cost-cutting measures.