Mondelez bets to become global leader in cakes and pastries

USA – Mondelez International, Inc. plans to be the global leader in cakes and pastries through expansion, innovation and support from the company’s iconic brands, the company revealed during the Feb. 18 presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference.

The target comes after the global snacks giant was ranked third behind Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV and Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd. in the global cakes and pastries market.

Speaking during the presentation, Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer at Mondelez, revealed that the company’s strategy is accelerating the growth of its strong legacy brands, particularly Oreo, Cadbury and Milka brands.

“Over the past few years, we’ve built a US$2 billion cakes and pastries business by accelerating growth of our strong legacy brands, complemented with strategic bolt-on M&A,” said Van de Put.

The company’s chocolate branded cakes and pastries have registered a high single digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the past three years, according to Mondelez.

The company’s expansion strategy will include growing its packaged croissant business by tapping into novel markets. The packaged croissant business currently generates around US$500M in Europe, according to the company.

“Over the past few years, we’ve built a $2 billion cakes and pastries business by accelerating growth of our strong legacy brands, complemented with strategic bolt-on M&A,” Van de Put added.

Van de Put continued to state that about a third of the company’s cakes and pastries business comes from extending their legacy brands like Oreo, Milka and the French favorite Lu into ‘chocobakery’ products including soft cakes, brownies and similar treats.

Acquisitions have been central to Mondelez’s growth in cakes and pastries. Key acquisitions include the acquisition of Chipita SA in Europe, Give and Go in the United States and Evirth in China. The acquired businesses make up about two-thirds of the company’s cakes and pastries sales.

While being interviewed by Food Business News before the CAGNY presentation, Van de Put gave an update on each acquired business. He said that Mondelez followed the acquisition of Chipita with the purchase of Give and Go, a supplier of ready-to-thaw products for in-store bakeries.

Van de Put added that Evirth gives Mondelez a foothold in the premium baked foods market in China with room to grow globally.

Of the three acquired businesses, Van de Put predicted Chipita will have the largest short-term impact while Give and Go will have the largest long-term impact.

During the interview, Van de Put also expressed hope that in the future, retailers around the world will feature in-store bakeries as well as aisles devoted to cakes and pastries. Such formats exist in some European markets and Mondelez plans to pioneer the introduction of such formats to the United States.

The global market for cakes and pastries generated approximately US$97B in sales in 2024 and is forecast to have a CAGR of 4.4% to reach estimated sales of US$125B by 2030, according to Mondelez.

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