Accelerating pace of life, growing work pressures and evolving family structures have all contributed to make everyday family gatherings over breakfast, lunch and dinner more of a special rather than regular affair.
And according to leading global food manufacturer and distributor Mondelez International Inc., this phenomenon has led to the rapid growth in recent years of the snacks category, defined as small, ready-to-eat food items taken in between breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Listed Mondelez claims more than 75 percent of consumers around the world are snacking, particularly on biscuits, chocolates, gum and candy, thus driving the $1.2-trillion industry.
Most of that impressive growth is coming from Asia, according to Mondelez chair and chief executive Dirk Van de Put, a reflection of the economic expansion in the region gifted with young and burgeoning population that is also growing in affluence.
“We see that 80 percent of the growth in snacking will come from developing markets like Southeast Asia. The lifestyle of consumers is changing; they’re much busier, much more urban, and without the same opportunity to sit down for a meal,” Van de Put said.
Mondelez feels it is well-positioned to leverage on this rapidly growing food category.
Van de Put accumulated firsthand knowledge of the unique consumer behavior in Asia during a recent visit to the region. Part of his Asian agenda was a visit to the Philippines, which saw a minimum 10-percent growth in the snack category, according to data from Nielsen Retail Audit.
Van de Put liked what he saw in the Philippines, which he said was “doing quite well,” particularly in powdered beverages (Tang) and cheese products (Eden, Cheez Whiz).
This is quite the opposite of how Mondelez’s portfolio is performing in other parts of the world. Globally, Mondelez’s main revenue generators are biscuits (Oreo, belVita), chocolates (Cadbury, Toblerone) and gum (Trident), with the powdered beverages and cheese at the lower end of the product spectrum, except in the Philippines.
The company believes there is still great room for growth in economically advancing Philippines, where it has been present since 1963, employing some 450 people with a manufacturing facility in Parañaque City.
In a media briefing, Van de Put said Mondelez wanted to increase its share in the categories where it had long enjoyed leadership position.
“Our biscuit and chocolate brands have also been part of many Filipino traditions and snack times. We are happy to share that we are now number one in modern trade (Nielsen Retail Audit) in the chocolates category, with our brand, Cadbury Dairy Milk. For biscuits, we have been steadily growing to carve our space in Pinoys’ snack times, with our products growing high double-digits in [the first quarter], locally,” Van de Put shared.
Eventually, as demand increases, more job-generating investments in the country in terms of new factories or distribution centers can be justified.
“We have to first expand to new categories. We want to grow faster so we can invest more,” Van de Put said.