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Mondelēz International has revealed that it will enter China’s $2.8 billion chocolate market by launching Milka – its European chocolate brand – in the country from September.
More than a dozen core products will be available alongside special editions for seasonal occasions, as the company looks to capitalise on increased demand within China for chocolate products.
The “move will enhance and accelerate the company’s growth plan by introducing a global power brand to one of the world’s biggest markets,” Mondelēz said.
“When we launched our growth plan last year, we said we’d focus on geographic white spaces where we could accelerate the growth of our core categories and power brands,” said Tim Cofer, chief growth officer for Mondelēz International. “This is a perfect example of that plan in action — launching a snacking category where we’re already a world leader into an emerging market where we have an established, successful presence.
“We see enormous potential for the growth of the chocolate category in China, where consumption today is low — even by emerging market standards. We expect our industry-leading innovation, manufacturing, sales and marketing capabilities to attract more consumers, more often, growing our business and the category.”
And Stephen Maher, president of Mondelēz in China, continued: “We’ve been operating in China for over 30 years so we know this market and what it takes to launch a business here. In 2012, we entered the gum category in China for the first time and have now built this into a $200 million business with two much-loved brands. The strength of our iconic Milka brand, combined with a winning recipe uniquely designed for Chinese consumers, gives us great confidence that we’ll be successful with chocolate in China, too.”
One of the world’s largest confectionery companies, Mondelēz International’s portfolio includes brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Côte d’Or, Lacta and Toblerone, alongside Milka. The portfolio of snack foods was spun off from Kraft Foods in October 2012.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024