Mondelēz International Announces Winners of First ‘Future of Snacking’ Awards at Seeds & Chips Global Summit

Mondelēz International’s global innovation and venture hub, SnackFutures, today recognized two start-ups for their innovative snacking solutions to help support a healthier planet, at the Seeds & Chips annual Global Innovation Summit in Milan. 

The sustainable snacking competition was held as part of SnackFutures’ mission to create snacks that are good for people, kind to the planet and deliciously fun. Start-ups were asked to share solutions that could foster a more sustainable food system in areas such as food waste reduction, sustainable sourcing and packaging, alternative ingredients, circular and regenerative snack solutions and emerging technologies.

Among the six finalists, two start-ups were selected as the winners of the first SnackFutures “Future of Snacking” pitch competition. Kaffe Bueno, a Denmark-based start-up, upcycles spent coffee grounds from industrial coffee waste by transforming them into nutritious ingredients used in foods and wellness products. The other winner was In-Code Technologies, an emerging technology used to create edible, in-product traceability markers designed to improve food safety and increase consumer trust in the food supply.

“Sustainability is an innovation priority for SnackFutures because it’s what consumers want. As the world’s snacking leader, we’re committed to growing our business and making our snacks the right way, with positive impact for people and planet,” said Brigette Wolf, Head of SnackFutures Innovation. “We were blown away by the commitment, creativity and passion shown by all six of the contestants and we’re excited about the opportunities they are opening up for the future of snacking.”

The contest was conducted in collaboration with Food Tank, a non-profit think tank and leading global voice on creating a better, more sustainable food system.

“We’re happy to see SnackFutures call for more sustainable food ideas. It’s important for food companies to do their part to advance a more sustainable food system and work with start-ups to help accelerate ideas that can have real impact,” said Danielle Nierenberg, Founder of Food Tank.

The two winners will receive an opportunity to participate in an “innovation acceleration” workshop with Mondelēz International’s experts.

“Being part of this experience was extremely valuable as it allows us to share, and get input, on our ideas for business from global companies like Mondelēz International that have the expertise and willingness to help us make a bigger impact on the world,” said Juan Media, co-founder of Kaffe Bueno.

“The exposure and visibility is really important for start-ups who don’t have large resources to raise awareness about the new types of technologies that can help advance a safer, more sustainable food system,” said Joe Tilley, founder of In-Code Technologies.

Mondelēz International Makes Minority Investment in Hu, a Healthy-Lifestyle Snacking Company

Mondelēz International announced on Thursday it has made a minority investment in Hu (as in “Human”) Master Holdings, the parent company of both Hu Products and Hu Kitchen, a fast-growing US-based snacking company offering minimally processed, high-quality snacks.

Hu Kitchen

This is the second venture investment Mondelēz International is making as part of SnackFutures, its innovation and venture hub aimed at unlocking snacking growth opportunities around the world. This investment falls into two of SnackFutures’ high-growth strategic priorities: well-being and premium.

Founded in 2012 as a family business by Jason H. Karp and siblings Jordan Brown and Jessica (Brown) Karp, Hu began as Hu Kitchen in New York City, a high-end kitchen and market focused on delicious, paleo-inspired foods with simple, real ingredients. The Hu Kitchen market section quickly became a proof-of-concept CPG testing ground, prompting the company to expand its medal-winning, vegan and paleo-friendly chocolate products (free of refined sugar, soy, dairy and gluten). Today, Hu has developed into a premium, multi-SKU brand portfolio of wellness-focused, vegan/paleo-friendly snacking products with a devoted following.

“As the global snacking leader, we’re on a mission to lead the future of snacking and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Investing in Hu offers our company an opportunity to do exactly that,” said Tim Cofer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of Mondelēz International. “The Hu brand sits at the convergence of key growing consumer trends. Building on its initial success in chocolate, we believe there’s an exciting opportunity to continue expanding the Hu proposition into a broad health-focused snacking platform across categories. And, with an in-house test kitchen and insights lab, they have a unique ability to quickly test and learn.”

“Jordan, Jessica and I started Hu because we wanted a place where we could trust and understand every ingredient in our food,” said Jason H. Karp, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hu. We chose Mondelēz International as a minority investor because we believe their resources, strengths and progressive vision of SnackFutures can help us accelerate positive change within snacking. This partnership should allow the Hu platform to grow and reach more people in a better and broader way than on our own.”

Co-founder Jordan Brown added: “Hu is our passion, and we’re thrilled to fuel its growth with Mondelēz International as our partner. Our perpetual goal is to marry great taste with no weird ingredients, and we’re big believers that using these simpler ingredients can make people feel and perform better than they thought possible. Our new partnership will help us advance this ‘Get Back To Human’ concept to a global audience.”

Mondelēz International Partners with Food Business Incubator, The Hatchery Chicago

Photo credit: Food Business News

Mondelēz International has announced a partnership with The Hatchery Chicago, a non-profit food business incubator, as it ramps up its innovation efforts to lead the future of snacking.

The partnership is one of several investments the company is making as part of SnackFutures, the company’s innovation and venture hub aimed at unlocking snacking growth opportunities around the world.

Through the new partnership, Mondelēz International and the SnackFutures team will be able to connect with the local food and beverage start-up community and work together to accelerate and scale innovation. Mondelēz International will work with The Hatchery Chicago to offer educational opportunities and mentorship to entrepreneurs active in Chicago’s thriving food and drink scene.

“We are truly impressed with the talented start-ups coming out of The Hatchery and are excited to be part of this journey. As the world’s snacking leader, it is increasingly important for us to collaborate with the best and brightest talent in advancing the future of snacking,” said Tim Cofer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of Mondelēz International. “With SnackFutures, we want to disrupt the food industry by testing new ideas and scaling what works. Working with The Hatchery food entrepreneurs will help us push the boundaries of what is possible in snacking as we continue to build our ecosystem of partners while also giving back and offering guidance to new companies.”

As one of the largest food incubation spaces in the U.S., The Hatchery helps local entrepreneurs build and grow successful food and beverage businesses through three major areas of need: access to production space, financing and resources. Housed in 67,000-square-foot facility in the East Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago, it provides job training and placement programs, creating sustainable economic growth and new job opportunities.

“At The Hatchery Chicago, we believe collaboration accelerates innovation and increases the rate of success for companies – big and small,” says Natalie Shmulik, CEO of The Hatchery Chicago.

“Through this partnership with Mondelēz International, we’re creating even more opportunities for our entrepreneurs and community members to access the mentorship and industry expertise that will help them take their business to the next level.”

A key pillar of the company’s consumer-centric growth strategy, SnackFutures is designed as an independent hub that brings three core tenets of growth under one umbrella to accelerate innovation: invention of new brands and businesses; reinvention of small-scale brands with large-scale potential, and venture investments with start-up entrepreneurs to bring emerging brands and strategic capabilities.

Supported by an unconventional ecosystem of best-in-class internal experts and external partners around the globe, SnackFutures seeks to collaborate in three key strategic areas: well-being snacks, premium snacks, digital platforms and capabilities. Check https://www.snackfutures.com/ for more information on how entrepreneurs and partners can submit innovative ideas.

Mondelēz International Launches SnackFutures™ Innovation Hub to Lead the Future of Snacking

Mondelēz International announced on Tuesday that it will launch a forward-thinking innovation hub called SnackFutures to capitalize on changing consumer trends and emerging growth opportunities in snacking around the world.

SnackFutures will be uniquely structured to bring together internal talent, an ecosystem of external partnerships and dedicated funding across three integrated mandates:

• Invention of new brands and businesses in key strategic areas;
• Reinvention of small-scale Mondelēz brands with large-scale potential, and;
• Venturing with start-up entrepreneurs to seed new businesses.

Mondelēz International is targeting SnackFutures to contribute $100 million to revenue growth by 2022.

“Discovering and unleashing innovative ideas in snacking that will delight consumers and drive growth is a key element of our new strategy,” said Tim Cofer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of Mondelēz International. “We are launching SnackFutures, a new forward-thinking innovation hub, to capitalize on new trends, and mobilize entrepreneurial talent and technologies to build and grow small brands with large-scale potential. SnackFutures will unlock snacking growth opportunities around the world that respond to emerging trends and changing consumer preferences.”

SnackFutures will officially launch in November 2018 with a cross-functional team of leaders, led by Cofer, with targeted expertise in brand marketing, consumer insights, research and development, innovation and corporate development. SnackFutures is seeking creative, entrepreneurial individuals and partners with great snacking-related ideas or capabilities to join them in this endeavor. For the program’s initial innovation projects, SnackFutures will seek entrepreneurs, suppliers, nutritionists, food and technology engineers and other potential partners to collaborate on opportunities in three key strategic areas:

• Well-being snacks and ingredients
• Premium snacks and ingredients
• Digital platforms and capabilities

SnackFutures’ mission is aligned with Mondelēz International’s purpose of empowering people to snack right by offering the right snack, at the right time, in the right way.