08 Mar US: Mondelez debuts ‘wholesome’ savoury snack brand

Mondelez has debuted a new line of better-for-you savoury snacks, Good Thins, the company’s first new snack brand in more than a decade.

In the snack line’s eight varieties, the base ingredients are either potatoes, chickpeas, or rice (for gluten-free versions). Flavours include spinach and garlic, sweet potato, and poppy and sesame seed.

Absent from Good Thins’ ingredients lists are artificial colours and flavours, cholesterol, PHOs, and high fructose corn syrup.

Insights from FoodDive.com

In the growth strategy Mondelez outlined last September, the company committed to having healthy snack sales generate half of revenue in the next five years, up from one-third as of the time of the announcement.

That revenue will primarily come from three sources: making current products “healthier”. such as by removing artificial colours; acquiring companies that make healthy snacks, such as Enjoy Life Foods; and creating new health-focused product lines.

The release of Good Thins could be just the beginning for this branch of Mondelez’s strategy to expand its healthy snacks portfolio. Mondelez has been capitalising on the “thins” trend currently popular in healthy snacks, with Oreo Thins and Wheat Thins Even Thinner.

Many of the better-for-you snacks from major manufacturers have been products from companies they acquired or tweaked versions of legacy brands rather than new brands developed from scratch.

Mondelez’s Good Thins release signals the role new product and brand R&D will play as large manufacturers work to keep up with trends.

Source: FoodDive.com