CHICAGO – Mondelez International’s April 2020 acquisition of Give & Go, a manufacturer of sweet baked foods and kits sold in supermarket bakeries, was an adjacency play. It allows the snack manufacturer to take its snack know-how into a new part of the grocery store.
“ … That fresh in-store bakery, the size and value of that category is equal to, if not slightly greater than the overall cookie cracker market,” said Henry Glendon Walter, Mondelez’s president of North America, during a June 23 presentation at the virtual Jefferies Consumer Conference. “So, this is a significant piece of business for us to go after.”
Give & Go currently generates approximately $500 million in sales, said Mr. Walter. Brands owned by Give & Go include original two-bite, Create-A-Treat, Mason St. Bakehouse, Kimberley’s Bakeshoppe and The Worthy Crumb. Under the terms of last year’s acquisition agreement, the business operates separately from Mondelez and its senior leadership team has retained a minority stake.
Mr. Walter said what sets Give & Go apart from other bakers serving in-store bakeries is it covers the entire supply chain from the base product all the way through to decoration.
“… In the in-store bakery, the perimeter, many players in this space do a piece of the value chain,” he said. “Give & Go is truly the only one that finishes it all the way through. So, you've got plenty of great companies that will do the base of a muffin or the base of a cookie or the base of the cake needs to be finished then by somebody else, typically retailer labor (needs) to do that in store. Give & Go is able to deliver that.”
Mondelez believes its snack insights will enhance Give & Go’s position in the consumer’s path to purchase.
“ … That fresh in-store bakery ... is a significant piece of business for us to go after.” – Henry Glendon Walter, Mondelez International
“Certainly, the opportunity or the capability we bring on shopper and snacking insights and where people are today, where are they headed and how do retailers need to be thinking about whether it's perimeter of store or center of store, cake and pastry, biscuit, licensing, branding, humbly, we bring a very strong capability there,” Mr. Walter said.
He added that Mondelez’s portfolio of brands, including Oreo, is starting to appear in Give & Go bakery products and kits, which includes do-it-yourself gingerbread houses as well as Easter and Halloween decorations.
“All of those things are great co-branding and licensing opportunities that we’re taking advantage of,” Mr. Walter said. “Our retail partners are excited, and it's just a huge growth corridor as we look to the future.”