Mondelez International
| File:Mondelēz International logo.svg Logo used since 2012 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Confectionery, Food, Beverages, Snacks |
| Predecessor | Kraft Foods Inc. |
| Founded | October 1, 2012 in Chicago, United States |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (nearly 160 countries) |
Key people | Dirk Van de Put (CEO) |
| Products | Confectionery, biscuits, gum, powdered drinks |
| Revenue | US$36.4 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 90,000 (2024) |
| Website | www |
Mondelēz International, Inc. () is a global American corporation specializing in confectionery, food, beverages, and snacks, with its headquarters located in Chicago. Generating $36.4 billion in revenue for 2024, the company maintains operations across nearly 160 nations and was ranked 108th on the Fortune 500 list in 2021.
Mondelez emerged from Kraft Foods Inc., which was originally founded in Chicago in 1923. The current entity was formed in 2012 when Kraft Foods divided its snack segment—renamed Mondelez—from its North American grocery business, the latter of which subsequently merged with Heinz to create Kraft Heinz. The brand name "Mondelez" is derived from the Latin word mundus meaning "world," combined with a creative adaptation of the word "delicious."
The company’s extensive product range features leading brands in categories such as confectionery, biscuits, gum, and powdered drinks. Noteworthy billion-dollar brands include Nabisco lines like Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, and Ritz; chocolate products such as Cadbury, Milka, and Toblerone; gum and throat lozenges including Trident, Dentyne, and Halls; as well as powdered beverages like Tang. Its portfolio also comprises subsidiaries like Cadbury, Clif Bar & Company, and Nabisco.
Mondelez Canada oversees brands including Mr. Christie and Triscuits through offices situated in Toronto, Brampton, Hamilton, and Montreal. Globally, the company employs around 90,000 individuals and operates under the strategic guidance of CEO Dirk Van de Put.
Kraft
The roots of Mondelez International can be traced back to the National Dairy Products Corporation, established in 1923 by Edward E. Rieck and Thomas H. McInnerney to unify the fragmented ice cream industry within the United States.
In 1924, Kraft Cheese Company was founded and initially listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange before moving to the New York Stock Exchange in 1926. Two years later, Kraft acquired Phenix Cheese Company—famous for Philadelphia Cream Cheese—and rebranded as Kraft-Phenix Cheese Company.
By 1930, National Dairy took over Kraft Phenix but preserved its name and management team while granting operational autonomy to Kraft Phenix. The company underwent a name change to Kraftco Corporation in 1969 and later became Kraft Inc. in 1976. Following its acquisition by Philip Morris and a merger with General Foods Corporation in 1989, it adopted the name Kraft Foods Inc. in 1995. Philip Morris divested its holdings by 2007.
On September 7, 2009, Kraft initiated a hostile takeover bid valued at £10.2 billion targeting British confectionery manufacturer Cadbury, known for Dairy Milk and Bournville chocolates. Cadbury initially dismissed the £9.8 billion proposal as insufficient; however, Kraft raised its offer on December 4. The bid encountered considerable political resistance and public backlash within the UK, igniting debates over safeguarding domestic companies from large foreign acquisitions. Eventually, on January 19, 2010, Cadbury accepted an improved offer of £11.5 billion ($19.5 billion), partially financed through Royal Bank of Scotland.
Following the acquisition, Cadbury’s sales remained steady despite contributing to a 30% increase in Kraft’s total sales figures. Nevertheless, Kraft experienced a 24% decline in net profit during Q4 to $540 million due to costs associated with integration efforts. The company invested $1.3 billion to consolidate Cadbury’s operations with an objective of achieving $675 million in annual savings by 2012. Rising prices for commodities such as corn, sugar, and cocoa compelled Kraft to raise prices across North American and European markets. CEO Irene Rosenfeld highlighted challenging market conditions ahead. Initially, this acquisition reduced Kraft’s earnings per share by roughly one-third owing to integration expenses.
Mondelez International
In August 2011, Kraft Foods revealed its intention to divide into two separate publicly traded entities: one focused on international snack foods and the other on North American grocery products. The snack-focused company was named Mondelez International and became the legal successor to Kraft Foods, while the grocery division was established as Kraft Foods Group. This separation finalized in October 2012, with Kraft Foods rebranding as Mondelez International and spinning off Kraft Foods Group, which subsequently merged with Heinz to form Kraft Heinz.
Mondelez combined its coffee operations with Dutch company Douwe Egberts in 2014, resulting in the creation of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (currently JDE Peet's), with the merger completing in July 2015.
In April 2015, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused Mondelez and its former subsidiary of purchasing $90 million worth of wheat futures without the intention to take delivery, allegedly inflating commodity prices and generating $5.4 million in profits.
By January 2016, Mondelez pledged to source only cage-free eggs worldwide by 2025.
On June 30, 2016, Mondelez proposed a $23 billion offer to acquire Hershey, valuing Hershey shares at $107 each; however, Hershey’s board unanimously declined the proposal. That same year, Mondelez divested several brands such as Terry's to Eurazeo, which later became part of Carambar & Co.
In January 2017, Mondelez sold its Australian grocery segment, including Vegemite, to Bega Cheese.
Dirk Van de Put, previously CEO of McCain Foods Belgium, took over as Mondelez CEO in November 2017, succeeding Irene Rosenfeld.
Mondelez pursued growth through acquisitions: it purchased cookie brand Tate's Bake Shop for around $500 million in 2018; acquired a controlling interest in Perfect Snacks (maker of Perfect Bar) mid-2019; bought Canadian two-bite brownie producer Give & Go in early 2020; and acquired Hu Master Holdings for over $250 million in January 2021.
In May 2021, Mondelez acquired Greek snack manufacturer Chipita S.A., a prominent player in Central and Eastern European baked snacks; the transaction closed in January 2022. In May 2022, it also acquired Ricolino, Grupo Bimbo’s confectionery business, for approximately $1.3 billion.
Additionally, in May 2022, Mondelez announced intentions to divest its gum business—including brands like Trident and Dentyne—in developed markets along with its entire Halls cough drop division. The gum segment was sold to Perfetti Van Melle in October 2023.
In June 2022, Mondelez agreed to purchase Clif Bar for $2.9 billion, incorporating Clif, Luna, and Clif Bar Kids into its brand portfolio.
Corporate affairs
Mondelez International is headquartered in Chicago’s Fulton Market District. In 2020, the company relocated its main headquarters from suburban Deerfield, Illinois to Chicago proper. Its North American headquarters remains situated in East Hanover, New Jersey, where about 1,500 employees work. Furthermore, a global innovation center was inaugurated in Whippany, New Jersey in 2023 to support product development and business expansion efforts.
Finances
For fiscal year 2017, Mondelez International reported net income of US$2.922 billion on revenues totaling US$25.896 billion—a marginal decrease of 0.1% compared to the previous year. As of October 2018, shares traded above $42 each with a market capitalization exceeding US$58.8 billion. The COVID-19 pandemic stimulated snack demand significantly, resulting in a 15% sales increase across North America during Q1 2020 and boosting overall revenue by nearly 3%.
| Year | Revenue in mil. US$ |
Net income in mil. US$ |
Total assets in mil. US$ |
Price per share in US$ |
Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 34,113 | 2,632 | 57,628 | 14.42 | 94,000 |
| 2006 | 33,256 | 3,060 | 55,574 | 15.24 | 90,000 |
| 2007 | 35,858 | 2,721 | 67,993 | 16.33 | 103,000 |
| 2008 | 40,492 | 2,884 | 63,173 | 15.28 | 98,000 |
| 2009 | 38,754 | 3,021 | 66,714 | 13.68 | 97,000 |
| 2010 | 31,489 | 4,114 | 95,289 | 16.43 | 127,000 |
| 2011 | 35,810 | 3,554 | 93,837 | 19.21 | 126,000 |
| 2012 | 35,015 | 3,067 | 75,477 | 23.06 | 110,000 |
| 2013 | 35,299 | 3,915 | 72,515 | 28.09 | 107,000 |
| 2014 | 34,244 | 2,184 | 66,771 | 33.41 | 104,000 |
| 2015 | 29,636 | 7,267 | 62,843 | 38.64 | 99,000 |
| 2016 | 25,923 | 1,659 | 61,538 | 41.15 | 90,000 |
| 2017 | 25,896 | 2,922 | 63,109 | 42.46 | 83,000 |
| "2018" | "25",938 | "3",381 | "62",729 | "42",21 | "80",000 |
| "2019" | "25",868 | "3",870 | "64",549 | "51",57 | "80",000 |
| "2020" | "26",581 | "3",555 | "67",810 | "58",47 | "79",000 |
| "2021" | "28",720 | "4",300 | "67",092 | "66",31 | "79",000 |
| "2022" | "31",500 | "2",720 | "71",160 | "69",72 | "80",000 |
| "2023" | "36",016 | "4",959 | "71",391 | ||
| "2024" | "36",441 | "4",611 | "68",497 | "90",000 |
Brands
Mondelez International's collection comprises well-known products that the company either develops, owns, licenses, or distributes. The company primarily concentrates on snack foods and confectionery sectors. In select global markets, products bearing the Kraft name are manufactured under license agreements with the Kraft Heinz Company since 2012.
Deforestation
In 2017, an investigation conducted by the NGO Mighty Earth uncovered that a significant portion of the cocoa utilized in Mondelez’s chocolate originated illegally from protected national parks and conservation zones in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which are leading global cocoa producers. The findings revealed that more than 90% of land within certain protected regions had been converted into cocoa plantations. This extensive deforestation has drastically diminished forest coverage—Ivory Coast retains less than 4% of its original forest—and has severely impacted wildlife populations, including species such as chimpanzees and elephants.
In response, Mondelez mapped nearly all its cocoa suppliers across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia by 2018 to mitigate deforestation risks. Nevertheless, a Greenpeace investigation in 2018 identified that 22 palm oil suppliers linked to Mondelez had cleared upwards of 70,000 hectares of rainforest between 2015 and 2017. On the 2022 Chocolate Scorecard assessing Agroforestry efforts, Mondelez earned a 'yellow' grade, reflecting initial steps toward enhancing sustainability practices.
Child slavery
In 2021, Mondelez International was named in a class action lawsuit brought by eight former child slaves from Mali, who alleged the company’s involvement in their exploitation on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast. The lawsuit accused Mondelez and other leading chocolate manufacturers of knowingly participating in forced labor, seeking compensation for unjust enrichment, negligent oversight, and emotional harm.
Mondelez has initiated policy improvements highlighted in the 2022 Chocolate Scorecard. Its Cocoa Life initiative aims to tackle child labor by engaging families, encouraging school attendance, and monitoring farming operations. By 2018, farms affiliated with Cocoa Life accounted for 43% of Mondelez’s cocoa supply, with ambitions to reach full coverage by 2025.
A 2022 investigation by Britain's Channel 4 Dispatches exposed children as young as ten working on Ghanaian farms that supply Cadbury, a brand owned by Mondelez. The report documented child laborers harvesting cocoa without any protective equipment.
In November 2023, International Rights Advocates filed an additional class action lawsuit against Cargill, Mars, and Mondelez on behalf of nine children. The complaint alleges these companies have failed to eliminate the worst forms of child labor as promised under ILO Convention No. 182 since 2005 and have misrepresented the success of their rehabilitation initiatives.
Criticism of activities in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, numerous multinational corporations scaled back or ceased operations within Russia. Mondelez announced it had "reduced all non-core activities" and suspended new investments there. As of March 2022, it remained among a small group continuing business in Russia, where it generates approximately 3.5% of its annual revenue—around $1 billion.
In May 2023, Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention designated Mondelez as an international war sponsor after reporting a 303% profit increase by its Russian division during 2022. This designation sparked consumer and corporate boycotts across Nordic countries and prompted football associations in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to terminate sponsorship agreements. Some Mondelez employees in Eastern Europe also protested against the company’s ongoing presence in Russia. Moreover, Cadbury lost its UK royal warrant while Sweden withdrew Marabou’s royal warrant due to these activities.
Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put remarked that investors "do not morally care" about the firm’s continued commercial engagement in Russia.
Anti-competitive practices
In May 2024, the European Commission imposed a €337.5 million penalty on Mondelez for exploiting its dominant position in the market and breaching EU competition regulations. The investigation revealed that the company unlawfully hindered cross-border trade of chocolate, cookies, and coffee products within the European Union by preventing retailers from purchasing more affordable items from other member countries.
Advertising
In July 2025, consumer organization Foodwatch awarded Mondelez's Milka chocolate the Goldener Windbeutel prize, drawing attention to concerns regarding shrinkflation—the practice of reducing product size while keeping prices unchanged.
See also
External links
- Articles with short description
- Pages with broken file links
- Mondelez International
- 2012 establishments in Illinois
- American chocolate companies
- American companies established in 2012
- Companies listed on the Nasdaq
- Confectionery companies of the United States
- Corporate spin-offs
- Food and drink companies based in Chicago
- Food and drink companies established in 2012
- Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
- Multinational food companies
- Snack food manufacturers of the United States
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
- 5