Mondelez International Acquires Enjoy Life Foods
Builds on Strategy to Expand in Fast-Growing 'Better-for-You' Snacks
Feb 16, 2015, 10:15 ET
DEERFIELD, Ill., Feb. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mondelez International today announced the acquisition of Enjoy Life Foods, a private U.S. snacking company and the market-leading brand in the fast-growing "free from" segment. Enjoy Life offers more than 40 great-tasting products, including cookies, chocolate, snack bars, and savory snacks that are allergy-friendly and gluten-free. Enjoy Life's products are free from the eight most common allergens – wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish – which together account for about 90 percent of all food allergies.
"As we focus on continuing to drive growth in snacking, the acquisition of Enjoy Life Foods is a great strategic fit for us," said Mark Clouse, Chief Growth Officer at Mondelez International. "The Enjoy Life brand expands our portfolio into faster growing, on-trend, 'better-for-you' areas and provides an excellent platform to make these delicious offerings available to consumers with 'free-from' needs or simply looking for healthy-lifestyle options, both in the United States and beyond."
The $12 billion "free-from" market in the United States is large and growing at strong double-digit rates1, driven by an increasing incidence of food allergies and food intolerances as well as consumers adopting "free from" as a healthy-lifestyle option.
"Enjoy Life offers an excellent brand promise that's trusted by their loyal and engaged consumers," Clouse said. "We're excited about the extraordinary potential of this business and the entrepreneurial team leading it. We have a great opportunity to share our expertise, learn from their experience and work to accelerate Enjoy Life's growth in this exciting consumer space."
"We're thrilled! As we combine our great brand, market leadership and passion for our consumers with the global resources, scale and marketing expertise of Mondelez International, I'm confident this relationship will enable us to reach even greater heights," said Scott Mandell, CEO and Founder of Enjoy Life Foods.
Mandell and other members of the Enjoy Life leadership team will continue to lead the company. Mondelez International will operate Enjoy Life Foods as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary to continue to nurture its entrepreneurial spirit, but will provide back-office support and access to its global resources.
The transaction was a simultaneous sign-and-close deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Additional information about Enjoy Life Foods can be found at www.enjoylifefoods.com, www.facebook.com/enjoylifefoods or www.twitter.com/enjoylifefoods.
About Mondelez International
Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snacking powerhouse, with 2014 revenue of $34 billion. Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelez International is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy, coffee and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; Trident gum; Jacobs coffee and Tang powdered beverages. Mondelez International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor's 500, NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDLZ.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words, such as "will," "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about the transaction and the potential of the acquired business. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Mondelez International's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Please see Mondelez International's risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. Mondelez International disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
1 Euromonitor
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SOURCE Mondelez International