30 years of evolution of SNACKING

One of the world leaders in snacking in the biscuits and chocolate categories, Mondelēz International is also one of the most advanced agri-food giants in integrating sustainable development into its activities.. Its Cocoa Life program to support cocoa producers has existed since 2012 : today it supports more than 200,000 farmers around the world. In France, the implementation of the LU Harmony charter, which sets the framework for a more sustainable supply of wheat in France and Europe, by favoring short circuits, dates from 2008. Now, Mondelez Int. goes further in its desire to reconcile snacking and eating well. The anniversary of 30 years of anchoring of the Mondelēz Int group. in the meeting, through its subsidiary Mondelēz France Indian Ocean, is therefore the opportunity for Simon Forster, its director, to recall this sustainable dimension, responsible and local which has become since last year a strategic pillar determining for the future of the group. With Mondelēz Int., another image of globalization appears through these territorial anchors, of which Reunion is an example. Mondelez Int. is indeed an international company with a local dimension. It is all the more important to emphasize that ties of heart as well as taste attach consumers to historic brands such as LU and Milka., which refer to youth around nostalgic moments of sharing. This is the message of responsible snacking that is exposed and commented on, for Meeting Leader, Simon Forster.

Meeting Leader : Mondelēz France Indian Ocean celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The company was founded on March 13, 1994.. What was her name at the time? ?

Simon Forster : It was called Danone International Brands, and we can be proud that employees who were there in 1994 are still part of the team. It is a sign of loyalty and proof that people feel good in our Reunion subsidiary..

What is the exact name of the current company  ?

Mondelēz France Indian Ocean Distribution SAS. And your question allows me to emphasize that we are a Reunionese and independent company, The subsidiary of Mondelēz International in France. Mondelez Int. is a global group, the sixth FMCG player (fast moving consumer goods), high-rotation products on supermarket shelves. But it’s also a Reunion company, employing Reunionese employees, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. If we import national and international brands, we are a fully fledged local business.

What meaning do you give to this anniversary?  ?

The people who decided to create a Reunion site in 1994 had a nose. The company developed with the Danone group until 2007, year when Danone's biscuit activities were sold to the Kraft Foods group. In 2010, Kraft purchased Cadbury's operations and became, in 2012, Mondelez Int., a name better reflecting its international dimension. For our team, this birthday is symbolic. We will make it a memorable moment internally. The general public, his, might not recognize the name Mondelēz Int., but he knows our brands. Historic brands. LU recently celebrated its 175th anniversary, Côte d’Or, his 140 years, and our brands maintain strong partnerships, like Belin with the FFF or Oreo with PacMan. In my opinion, the other meaning of this birthday, with local anchoring, it is that of a responsible company that Mondelēz Int. gives today to our activity. Our reason for being, our prime mover, in Reunion as everywhere else, c’est « Snacking made right », that is to say, giving everyone the means to combine snacking and eating well. The right snack, at the right time, made the right way.

Snacking made right : reconcile snacking and eating well. Is such a snacking model possible when the primary motivation for snacking is gluttony?  ?

Large moments of snacking between meals are culturally structured in France, these are the snack and the aperitif. Our products are made for these moments. The right way, these are our commitments to sustainable development, including our Cocoa Life and Harmony programs. The logos of these programs appear on our packaging. In my opinion, these are labels of responsibility and a source of differentiation for our brands. Surveys show that 80% of consumers want to buy responsible products *. Cocoa Life and Harmony meet this expectation. We also want to combine pleasure and quality with thoughtful consumption.. This is, for example, the objective of portions. These portions constitute additional packaging, but they promote measured consumption and better preserve the quality of products. Our next packaging will gradually display the Too Good To Go logo (too good to throw away), intended to reduce food waste. With brands present in 9 out of 10 French homes, Mondelez Int. is aware of its social responsibility. I could also cite the 350 tonnes of products donated to associations fighting against precariousness by Mondelēz France – locally, we are partners of the Mascarene Food Bank and the Red Cross. Too, the group’s gender equality index is 99 out of 100 in 2023. Snacking made right is part of the group's global vision to become the world leader in snacking in the biscuit and chocolate categories..

* OpinionWay study carried out for the NGO Max Havelaar, 2020.

The Cocoa Life program for more sustainable cocoa was launched in 2012. What does this program cover and where is it? ?

By 2030, Mondelez Int. aims to invest $1 billion in this program, knowing that we have already invested more than 600 million dollars by the end of 2023. Cocoa Life has several objectives. The first, is to protect primary forests in tropical countries. The second, it is to support communities of cocoa producers : we help them increase their income by producing better and more, we train them in good environmental practices, we encourage them to send their children to school rather than making them work in the fields. The third objective, is to guarantee a fair price to producers. The Cocoa Life program has made it possible to support around 243,000 cocoa producers by the end of 2023, in the six main cocoa producing countries*. From now on, 100% of the cocoa volume of our chocolate brands in France comes from the Cocoa Life program.. By 2025, the program will also cover our other products containing chocolate, such as our chocolate biscuits. Today, Cocoa Life is one of the most advanced global programs for the supply of more sustainable cocoa in supporting producers..
* Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Inde, Indonesia.

The other program, LU Harmony, concerns wheat. What is it about ?

Harmony is our more sustainable wheat sourcing program. It is a charter of mutual commitments made with the farmers who supply the wheat to our biscuit factories in mainland France.. In 2023, 99% of the volume of wheat necessary for our biscuit production in France and Europe was grown within the framework of the Harmony charter. In 2008, we created the Harmony program to help reduce our environmental impact and provide quality wheat for our cookies. We currently work with around 1,100 farmers in Europe, millers, cooperatives, experts and NGOs, to encourage the implementation of more sustainable agricultural practices to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, to the protection of biodiversity, improving soil health and conserving water. Notre ambition Harmony 2030, recently announced, will be fully anchored in regenerative agriculture and will focus on having a more sustainable impact on the environment, farmers and consumers. You should know that Mondelēz Int. does not work with large global wheat platforms, but on the contrary favors short circuits. This program is now completely integrated into the group’s biscuit strategy..

What are the group’s environmental footprint reduction objectives? ?

Mondelez Int. sets the objective of reducing its carbon footprint by 35% in 2030 compared to 2018 and aims for net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050, and this in scope 1, 2 et 3. These objectives were validated this year by the SBTI (science based targets Initiative), an international certification aimed at supporting companies in reducing their CO2 emissions.

Where does Mondelēz Int fit in?. in the biscuit and chocolate aisles ?

Our company is the leader in the biscuit category in France and Reunion Island.. Chocolate, we have continued to progress, up to representing 20% ​​of value market share with our three Milka brands, Gold Coast and Toblerone. Since 2022, a slowdown is felt following restructuring of ranges and especially because of inflation which has impacted us. Cookies and chocolate are very big categories in the grocery store. They are in the very top categories in terms of turnover. Biscuits have five subcategories : cereal biscuits, approximately 60% of the total market ; savory products and aperitifs (PSA), about 15% ; soft cakes, also 15% ; bread making, 10 % ; cereal bars, which are the smallest category. The subcategories in chocolate are bars, chocolate confectionery, seasonal chocolates for Easter and Christmas and spreads. Mondelez Int. has iconic brands in all these subcategories. In cereal biscuits, we READ, Oreo et Milka. Under the LU umbrella brand are such important brands as Granola, Belin, Mikado. In soft cakes, we have the Lulu Ourson range and again Milka. In PSA, our most iconic brands are Belin, Potato chips, TUC. In bread making, we have Heudebert and Pelletier. Our brand of cereal bars, Played, is also very well known and a partner of the Grand Raid.

Mondelez Int. gave Milka a new lease of life, until freeing itself from the symbol of the purple cow Lila.

This is one of the great successes of the group. Milka has become a major chocolate pastry brand. We find Milka as a spread, without palm oil, in soft cakes, in cereal biscuits. All these products are growth drivers. Mondelez Int. has evolved Milka to speak to as many people as possible. The color purple is more highlighted today because the animal is less consensual than before. However, the cow is always a symbol in our communications : Milka chocolate is made from 100% Alpine milk. This imagery conveys what Milka represents most : tenderness. Milka products are moments of shared tenderness. The people of Reunion Island demonstrate a strong attachment to this brand that we have been developing in Reunion Island since 2010..

Do you distribute only Mondelēz Int group brands?. ?

Yes. We only distribute biscuits and chocolates from the France catalog of the Mondelēz group. When I arrived at the management of Mondelēz France Océan Allemand in 2016, succeeding Jean-Armand Silvestre, director since 1994, our activity included the distribution of Blédina products, from the Danone group, and chocolate brands Suchard and Poulain, which belonged to Cadbury. In 2022, local distribution of Blédina products has been reorganized : she was transferred to a new company, Nursing Nutrition Clinic, subsidiary of Danone, another great proof of the local commitment of a large group. Before, in 2017, Mondelez Int. had sold Poulain and Suchard and we ceased the distribution of these two brands. On the other hand, in 2022, we took over the business of the Hollywood chewing gum and La Vosgienne candy brands, other Cadbury properties, to a local wholesaler. We needed to bring all our brands together under one roof. Mondelez Int. having sold its chewing gum and sugar confectionery activities in the United States last year, in Canada and Europe to the Peretti Van Melle group (VAT), this distribution passed at the end of March 2024 to Sodirel, which represents the PVM group in Reunion.

Are there any new features planned this year? ?

Rather than creating product innovation, This year we are working on product accessibility, so that all consumers can find their way despite inflation. Wheat was strongly impacted, and especially chocolate with cocoa prices multiplied by five, while 40% of our biscuits are also made with chocolate. This year, we are mainly renovating our packaging. Les crackers Belin, For example, will move from the 50 g to 100 g format to better respond to purchasing behavior. This packaging renovation also reflects the group's commitment to sustainable development.. By 2025, 98% or more of our packaging will be designed to be recyclable. Our new packaging limits the use of plastic and develops the use of cardboard. This will undoubtedly be more difficult in tropical countries than in temperate countries., but we will do it.

You talk about inflation. Aren’t there less choices in the cookie aisle? ?

What is sure, is that we must avoid giving the impression of impoverishment of the department. The Reunion consumer wants to have access to a wide and regular offer. Nothing more frustrating than a missing brand or product. The department must ensure good proportionality and good exposure of the products.

Does dock dues play an important role in shaping the prices of biscuits and chocolates? ?

I prefer to talk about local taxes rather than dock dues. I will quote the Réunion Import and Trade Union, of which we are members. The SICR identified 14 participants in the act of importation, of the departure of a product from mainland France, or elsewhere, to the Reunion consumer basket. These are so many professions and businesses. What does the price of a product consist of when it arrives? ? There is the cost of the product itself, plus the cost of supply and storage, plus the cost of local taxes. In the meeting, rates are 20,1 % et 26,5 %, cumulative local and national taxes. As a director of a local company, I am for defending and developing the local economy. I understand perfectly that we favor local industries, they create local employment, they must be able to develop and modernize. However, we can question the level of national and local taxes that apply to products like ours. : up to more than 26% of the price. The one who must win in the end, it's the consumer.

Your favorite cookie ?

I have a weakness for Grany Envie de Nuts. Also for soft Belvita. Two biscuits also appreciated by the Grand Raid competitors. We have been partners of the Grand Raid for many years. Hikers know our products very well.

Simon Forster, travel manager

English and French (since 2020), Simon Forster continues, for eight years in Reunion, a commercial career that began in the 1990s upon leaving Neoma Business School, a double diploma in French and English commerce and management in hand. He started in 1995 at Marks & Spencer, managing several stores for seven years, In France, in Belgium, then to the Persian Gulf, before taking responsibility for purchasing for the major British brand on fresh. in 2002, he joins Danone Biscuit, where it supports the out-of-home catering sector and export. The year 2007 is that of a big break and a global adventure. With his wife, they go around the world for a year. On his return, the biscuit business he ran moved to Kraft Foods. Export becomes its specialty. In 2010, an opportunity leads him to change path : he joins The Coca-Cola Company as director of national clients. He will be until his arrival in Reunion in 2016 with Mondelēz International. “I returned to the products I knew in 2002”, relieves Simon Forster, who has led the destiny of the Mondelēz France Ocean Industrie company since that date.

Comments collected by Olivier Soufflet – Photo MDLZ and Pierre Marchal Anakaopress