Bloomberg reports that Mondelez International Inc., parent company of the black-and-white cookie, already sells the candy bar in around 20 countries worldwide, but are finally bringing it to USA stores starting in October.
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“We have a very small presence in USA traffic today, so entering this category represents a significant white-space growth opportunity for us”, said Timothy Cofer, chief growth officer at Mondelez. But it has turned heartbreak into something delicious – deciding to make Oreo cookies into chocolate candy bars to raise sales instead.
The candy bars will be made with Milka-branded chocolate and are now distributed in about 20 countries.
In the premium segment, Mondelez is expanding its Green & Blacks products, which contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
There is a lot of untapped chocolate potential in the US, which could amount to an about $14 billion market, in Mondelez’s view.
The $23 billion merger with Hershey would have created the world’s largest confectioner, giving Mondelez access to such iconic products as Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. It also hopes to expand e-commerce operations with the goal of generating approximately $1 billion in revenue in 2020.
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Shares of Mondelez (MDLZ) were lower in late-morning trading on Wednesday as the Deerfield, IL-based snack manufacturer detailed its USA growth strategy following its cancelled bid for Hershey (HSY) one week earlier.
