By Joy Pan
Mondelez, the multinational snack giant, has not only weathered the COVID-19 crisis in the Chinese market, but its sales are expected to hit a new high in 2021. “China is the market where Mondelez is recovering the fastest from the pandemic, and has realized our growth targets for last year,” said Zhu Yijing, vice president of Sales of Mondelez GCR in an exclusive interview with Foodinc. She also revealed that Mondelez China may witness its annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan for the first time in 2021.
When talking about the secret of Mondelez China’s success, she said, “This is largely attributed to the ‘Local First’ strategy proposed by global CEO Dirk Van de Put.” To respond more quickly to local consumer preferences, Mondelez has adopted a new local business structure that gives regional teams greater decision-making power since 2019.
As for the future planning, Mondelez China will devote itself to building new businesses while doing its core business well. “Any big company must first do its core business well to generate controllable profits. For Mondelez China, biscuits, chewing gum and sweets are the core,” said Zhu Yijing. She also believes it’s necessary to divide small businesses that have great potential into several projects under the charge of different teams.