Mondelez International to enter China’s $2.8bn chocolate market

American snack food maker Mondelez International has announced plans to enter the $2.8bn Chinese chocolate market by launching its Milka brand in September.

The company also plans to introduce its other confectionary products and access the China’s growing demand for chocolate.

The development is expected to enhance and accelerate the company’s growth plan.

Mondelez International chief growth officer Tim Cofer said: “When we launched our growth plan last year, we said we’d focus on geographic white spaces where we could accelerate the growth of our core categories and power brands.

“This is a perfect example of that plan in action,  launching a snacking category where we’re already a world leader into an emerging market where we have an established, successful presence.

“We see enormous potential for the growth of the chocolate category in China, where consumption today is low, even by emerging market standards.

“We expect our industry-leading innovation, manufacturing, sales and marketing capabilities to attract more consumers, more often, growing our business and the category.”

Mondelez International is reported to be one of the world’s largest chocolate companies, with a portfolio of iconic brands that include Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Oreo, Côte d’Or, Lacta and Toblerone.

Hershley currently has a presence in the China, which saw a 3% decline in chocolate confectionery sales last year, reported Reuters.

In June, Mondelez made a $23bn bid for Hershey to create the world’s largest candy maker.

Mondelez China president Stephen Maher said: “We’ve been operating in China for over 30 years so we know this market and what it takes to launch a business here.

“In 2012, we entered the gum category in China for the first time and have now built this into a $200m business with two much-loved brands.

“The strength of our iconic Milka brand, combined with a winning recipe uniquely designed for Chinese consumers, gives us great confidence that we’ll be successful with chocolate in China, too.”

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Image: Mondelez’s Milka brand. Photo: courtesy of Mondelez International.