Careers at Mondelez International Inc

MISSION

Mondelez International Inc (“Mondelez”) aims to establish its position as the world’s foremost producer of confectionery and snack items, and to empower people around the world to “snack right”.

FOUNDING STORY

Mondelez traces its roots back to the foundation of the National Dairy Products Corporation in December 1923 by Thomas H. McInnerney and Edward E. Rieck. 

The Company was formed by Kraft to deliver a rollup strategy in the US ice cream industry, following which it expanded into a full range of dairy products.  National Dairy Products Corporation was formed by way of a merger between McInnerney’s Hydrox Corporation and the Rieck-McJunkin Dairy Company of Pittsburgh.   

National Dairy Products Corporation expanded its operations quickly, making a number of acquisitions within the dairy industry. 

In 1930, the Company acquired Kraft Phenix.  Following the acquisition, the Company began to diversify its product offerings to include caramel candies, macaroni-and-cheese dinners and margarine. 

Representing its shift away from its original ice cream business, the Company rebranded in 1969 under the name Kraftco Corporation.  The Company merged with Dart Industries in 1980, following which it changed its name to Dart and Kraft.  It later rolled out its non-food business and renamed itself Kraft. 

Mondelez has since undergone a number of mergers and acquisitions, which resulted in the Company’s establishment as a unit of Kraft Foods.  In 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to split its operations into two publicly listed companies: a North American grocery company and an international snack company.  T

he latter company became Mondelez, which has continued to expand its operations.

Mondelez is among the largest confectionery companies in the world, employing approximately 83,000 workers around the world and selling products to around 150 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 

The Company has a current market  capitalisation of USD 79.89 billion.   

Business model of Mondelez International Inc

Customer Segments

Mondelez serves a wide range of customers in the retail sector. 

The Company’s core clients fall primarily into the following categories:

  • Grocery Retailers, comprising supermarket chains, grocery store operators, convenience stores, department stores, and supercentres;
  • Discount Retailers, comprising retail club stores, mass merchandisers, and other discount and budget retailers;
  • Other Retailers, comprising gas stations, drug stores, and other retailers; and
  • Wholesalers and Distributors, comprising third party wholesalers and independent distributors who operate as intermediaries.

Mondelez’s products are ultimately purchased by general consumers through the Company’s retail clients.  In 2018, no single customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s net revenues. 

The Company’s five largest customers accounted for 16.8% of its annual revenue, and its ten largest customers accounted for 23.0% of net revenues.

Mondelez is headquartered in the US, but serves customers across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  The Company sells as products in around 150 countries worldwide.

Value Propositions

Mondelez provides value to its customers in the following ways

  • History and Reputation – Mondelez is one of the world’s most well-known confectionery companies and a leader in its industry, with an established reputation that dates back to the early twentieth century and includes its association with the Kraft brand;
  • Range of Products – Mondelez produces and sells a wide range of snack products and confectionery items – including chocolate, cookies, biscuits, gum, confectionery, and powdered beverages – ensuring that it has products that suit a wide range of tastes;
  • Size and Reach – Mondelez is a large multinational company, with operations across markets in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, and target markets in more than 150 countries worldwide; and
  • Brand Portfolio – Mondelez controls a large portfolio of world renowned brands including household names such as Belvita, Oreo, Ritz, Trident, Toblerone, Tang, Chips Ahoy, Cadbury, and TUC.

Channels

Mondelez serves its customers directly via its internal sales organisation. 

The Company distributes its products via direct store delivery, company owned and satellite warehouses, distribution centres, and other distribution facilities.  The Company additionally uses the services of independent sales offices and agents in some of its international locations.

Mondelez additionally operates a global ecommerce organisation, through which the Company pursues various online sales opportunities through retail partners in key markets around the world, including e-tailers and brick-and-mortar retailers. 

The Company conducts marketing efforts through three principal channels: consumer marketing and advertising including on-air, print, outdoor, digital and social media and other product promotions; consumer sales incentives such as coupons and rebates; and trade promotions to support price features, displays and other merchandising of our products by our customers.

Customer Relationships

Mondelez seeks to establish long-standing relationships with its clients by providing reliable, high-quality products and services. 

The Company works closely with clients to deliver products under contracts that meet their specific needs.  The Company also employs client management personnel that provide customers with a point of contact to manage their orders. 

Mondelez operates a website at www.mondelezinternational.com, through which it provides customers with information relating to its services, its operating locations, its brands, and its products, as well as to its corporate structure and management. 

The Company additionally operates separate websites for its various brands, through which customers can fund more specific information on certain products.   

Mondelez is additionally able to communicate directly with customers through its various social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Key Activities

Mondelez is an international a snack and confectionery company.  It is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of snack food and beverage products for general consumers. 

The Company organises its operations into four segments divided by geographic region: Latin America; Asia, Middle East, and Africa; Europe; and North America. 

The Company controls an extensive brand portfolio that spans  five core product categories: Biscuits, including cookies, crackers and salted snacks; Chocolate; Gum and Candy; Beverages, including coffee and powdered beverages; and Cheese and Grocery.  Its portfolio includes a number of well-known snack brands, including Nabisco, Oreo, belVita, Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone, Trident, and Tang. 

The Company sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, and retail food outlets.

Key Partners

Mondelez works in close conjunction with a broad network of partner companies and organisations around the world. 

These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:

  • Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of materials, equipment, and ingredients used in the Company’s manufacturing operations, as well as third party providers of services that support the Company’s corporate activities more broadly;
  • Logistics and Distribution Partners, comprising various third party logistics, distribution, and storage companies that support the Company’s own internal logistics infrastructure and distribution operations;
  • Manufacturing Partners, comprising contract manufacturers and third party factory operators that manufacture products on behalf or Mondelez;
  • Community Partners, comprising various non-profits and charitable organisations with which the Company collaborates on community and social projects across its operating markets; and
  • Strategic Partners, comprising a range of commercial enterprises and organisations with which the Company collaborates on strategic growth, business development, marketing, and branding projects.

Mondelez has a number of key partnerships in place.  In recent years, the Company has launched partnerships with companies and organisations such as The Hatchery Chicago, 7-Eleven, The Kitchen, Save the Children International, and Facebook.

Key Resources

Mondelez’s business model depends on its ability to provide high quality confectionery items to retailers around the world efficiently and reliably. 

As such, the Company’s key resources are its brand portfolio and intellectual properties, its manufacturing and production facilities – including those operated by its contract manufacturing partners, its logistics and distribution infrastructure, its suppliers and supply chain, its partners, and its personnel. 

The Company notably owns and or leases 132 manufacturing facilities and 123 distribution facilities across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which are crucial to its operations.

Cost Structure

Mondelez incurs costs in relation to the procurement of supplies and ingredients, the operation of its manufacturing facilities, the procurement of third party services, the operation of its logistics and distribution facilities – including occupancy and utility costs, the management of its partnerships, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, and the payment of salaries and benefits to its personnel. 

In 2018, Mondelez recorded total cost of sales for the year in the amount of USD 15.59 billion, and selling, general and administrative expenses in the amount of USD 6.48 billion.

Revenue Streams

Mondelez generates revenue through the production and sale of confectionery, beverage, and snack items in 150 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 

The Company derives its revenue in the of sales fees that are collected from clients under sales and service contracts agreed on a case by case basis.

In 2018, Mondelez generated total annual revenue for the year in the amount of USD 25.94 billion, up on the 25.90 billion recorded by the Company in 2017. 

The Company’s Europe segment accounted for the single largest portion of its revenue, totaling USD 10.13 billion, followed by North America with USD 6.89 billion, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa  with USD 5.73 billion, and Latin America with USD 3.20 billion.

Our team

Dirk Van de Put,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

info: Dirk Van de Put (“Van de Put”) has served as Chief Executive Officer at Mondelez since joining the Company in 2017, and has been the Chairman of the Company’s board of directors since 2018. In this role, he is responsible for developing and implementing the Company’s overall growth and business development strategies, and for leading the Company’s board of directors. In 1994, Van de Put joined Mars Inc, where he served as General Manager of Southern Cone for three years before joining The Coca Cola Company in 1997 as President of Coca Cola Caribbean. In 1998, he joined Groupe Danone, where he served consecutively as President of Latin America, and President of the Americas. From 2009 to 2010, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Global OTC at Novartis, and between 2010 and 2017, he served consecutively as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at McCain Foods Limited.

Luca Zaramella,
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

info: Luca Zaramella (“Zaramella”) has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Mondelez since 2018. In this position, he is responsible for overseeing all of the Company’s corporate finance operations, including its accounting, internal audit, and corporate tax activities. Zaramella is a long-serving employee of Mondelez, having first joined the Company in Italy in 1996. He has since held roles of increasing seniority at the Company in Latin America, Europe and North America, including spells as Corporate Controller, Treasurer, Global Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, and Senior Vice President of Finance for Mondelez Europe.

Tim Cofer,
Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer

info: Tim Cofer (“Cofer”) has served as Executive Vice President at Mondelez since 2011, and has been the Company’s Chief Growth Officer since 2016. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the activities of the teams responsible for developing and delivering corporate strategy, global categories, global marketing, and research, development and quality. Cofer is a long-serving employee of Mondelez, having first joined the Company in 1992. He has gone on to hold roles of increasing responsibility at the Company, including spells as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Integration, Senior Vice President of Global Chocolate Category Team, and Executive Vice President and President of Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.