DEERFIELD, ILL. — Mondelez International, Inc. may broaden the belVita biscuit brand into new forms, including bars, to capture a bigger share of the breakfast market, said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer.
“It’s a brand that’s performing quite well, and it’s mid-single-digit growth at the moment, doing quite well, particularly in the U.S.,” Mr. Van de Put said during an Oct. 29 earnings call. “Our evolution for belVita is to offer it in more different forms going into soft-baked, for instance, going potentially to bars and gradually expand the range of belVita to make it a full breakfast offering not only in the U.S. but around the world and potentially also take the brand into mid-morning snacking, which could also be very interesting. And I think the brand has the credentials not only from a branding perspective but also from the active ingredients to make that happen. That’s really our focus for the breakfast occasion for us.”
Mondelez is adopting a more agile approach to innovation, Mr. Van de Put said. A recent example was the creation of CaPao, a plant-based snack made with juice from cacaofruit pulp in collaboration with Barry Callebaut. Mr. Van de Put said the product was developed “in record time” and launched with limited distribution in test markets.
“This sort of an approach is very different from the innovation approach that we had in the past,” he said.
Net earnings attributable to Mondelez International for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 totaled $1,423 million, equal to 98c per share on the common stock, up 19% from $1,194 million, or 81c, in the prior-year period.
Net revenues climbed 1.1% to $6,355 million from $6,288 million. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and currency rate fluctuations, net revenues increased 4.2%.
In North America, net revenues grew 2.5% on an organic basis to $1,823 million in the quarter, said Luca Zaramella, executive vice-president and chief financial officer.
“We grew share in biscuits as Oreo, Ritz and belVita all delivered strong results,” Mr. Zaramella said. “Improved commercial execution and innovation, share gains in alternative channels and more consistency in supply chain helped drive these results. We remain committed to sustaining our improved performance in the region.”