Mondelez News

US chocolate maker Hershey has rejected a preliminary takeover offer from Mondelez International, people familiar with the matter said, potentially ending a fresh pursuit that would've created a food giant with combined sales of almost $50 billion. Hershey Trust, which has roughly 80% of the voting power at the company, turned down the bid as too low, said the people, who declined to be identified because discussions are private. Securing the trust's backing is vital for any deal for Hershey as it owns almost all of the company's Class B stock. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Mondelez made a preliminary approach for Hershey, citing people familiar with the matter. It's not the first time Mondelez has sought a deal. In 2016, it walked away from discussions about a potential takeover after seeing a $23 billion bid rejected by the chocolate maker.

Cadbury has pretty recently lost its royal warrant for the very first time in 170 years under King Charles III, reported News Bytes.

Mint's queries to Nataraj and Thakran did not receive a response till press time. In the past, companies such as Mamaearth, Dabur India and Mondelez, have sent legal notices to influencers to take posts that were critical of their products. Queries sent to Mamaearth, Dabur and Mondelez went unanswered till press time.

Amazon.com reported slowing online sales growth in the second quarter and said cautious consumers were seeking out cheaper options for purchases, sending shares down nearly 8%. The after-hours stock drop came despite second-quarter profit and cloud computing sales that beat analyst estimates. Amazon shares had gained over 20% this year through the session close on Thursday, and investors were disappointed that the company forecast current-quarter sales below Wall Street estimates.

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes on Wednesday: Powell Industries, Mastercard rise; Pinterest, Lantheus fall

Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific Ltd, on Thursday announced Abhinav Kapoor as its new chief executive officer with immediate effect. He will lead the Del Monte Foods senior leadership team across functions and steer long-term strategy for the business, a company statement said. According to Harjeet Kohli, joint managing director, Bharti Enterprises, Kapoor will also amplify focus on the B2B and B2C spaces. Kapoor was previously vice president, sales at VIP Industries, where he was overseeing P&L, multiple channels and sales, the company said in a statement, adding that Kapoor has over two decades of experience in sales and distribution within consumer businesses. He has previously held leadership positions at Cavinkare, Britannia Industries, Mondelez and Marico, the statement said. He succeeds former chief Mahesh Kanchan.

Mondelez has partnered Belgian biscuit maker Lotus Bakeries to make, sell and market the latter's flagship brand Biscoff in India.

The European Commission has imposed a fine of 337.5 million euros ($366 million) on food company Mondelez, the owner of Oreo cookies and other snack brands, for obstructing sales of its products between EU member states

When Mondelez sought to promote a limited edition of its Oreo cookie earlier this year, it did something that would have been unthinkable not that long ago: It didn’t spend a dime advertising on TV. The snack company had a simple reason for that decision. The people it was looking to reach—Gen Z members, multicultural audiences and households with children—aren’t watching enough television.

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.

Bournvita lost its crown in the malted drink category. GoI told ecommerce sites and other portals that Mondelez India-owned Bournvita and a few other brands should not be called 'health drinks' because the category isn't defined in the country's food laws. The trigger for this announcement was an influencer's post about the malted drink's sugar content last year. After the backlash, Bournvita, which is marketed as a health supplement for children, was forced to reduce sugar content by nearly 15%. Children find milk tasteless. So, decades ago, a new category of milk additives was born. In the 1970s, they were called milk food drinks (MFDs). MFDs were of two types: milk substitutes, which could be had by adding hot water (Horlicks being the biggest), and chocolate-flavoured milk additives, or chocolate MFDs, such as Ovaltine, which was popular in the 1960s. Then came Bournvita, Maltova, Nutramul, and Milo. In the mid-1990s, National Dairy Development Board unleashed the 'Doodh Doodh' campaign to give milk more oomph and vigour. While the ad and jingle added fun to milk, kids still wanted it to get more exciting. And the sale of chocolate MFDs continued to boom.

Bournvita and other beverages should not be called health drinks because the category isn’t defined in the country’s food laws. “All ecommerce companies/portals are hereby advised to remove drink/beverages including Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their sites/portals,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a notification. Cadbury Bournvita, the country’s most popular malted drink, had found itself in a controversy last year after a social media influencer alleged that the drink has high sugar content.

Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’, on their portal and platforms. “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under Section (3) of the Commission of Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CRPC Act 2005 concluded that there is no ‘health drink’ defined under FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd,” said a notification from the ministry dated April 10. The advisory follows an inquiry by the NCPCR, which revealed that Bournvita contains sugar levels exceeding the acceptable limits.

NEW DELHI : PepsiCo India on Tuesday announced an investment of ₹1,266 crore to build a new flavour manufacturing facility in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, aimed at expanding the company's beverage production capacity in India. The facility in Ujjain will mark PepsiCo India's second such manufacturing site in the country, intended to produce beverage flavours "In India, for India." PepsiCo currently operates a similar plant in Channo, Punjab.

Easter baskets this year. Chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever as changing climate patterns eat into global cocoa supplies and the earnings of farmers in West Africa. About three-quarters of the world's cocoa — the main ingredient in chocolate — are produced on cacao trees in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon. But dusty seasonal winds from the Sahara were severe in recent months, blocking out the sunlight needed for bean pods to grow. The season prior, heavy rainfall spread a rotting disease. With exports from the Ivory Coast, the world's top producer, down by a third in recent months, the global price of cocoa has risen sharply. Cocoa futures have already doubled this year, trading at a record high of more than $10,000 per metric ton in New York on Tuesday after rising more than 60% the previous year. Farmers who harvest cacao beans say the increases aren't enough to cover their lower yields and higher production costs.

NEW DELHI : Chocolates could get more expensive, smaller (although perhaps not noticeably, a typical shrinkflation trait), or simply have less cocoa in them in a few months if cocoa prices aren’t tamed by then. These are the primary options chocolate and candy makers as well as those selling cookies and ice creams are weighing after global cocoa prices touched record highs earlier this week. India imports a significant volume of the primary ingredient that goes into making chocolates.

Shoppers may get a bitter surprise in their Easter baskets this year

Sweet Easter baskets will likely come at a bitter cost this year for consumers as the price of cocoa climbs to record highs

Gum makers are trying to figure out what will make Americans start chewing again

By Jessica DiNapoli

consumer goods companies including Nestle, Dabur, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Procter & Gamble have lined up big investments in India to step up capacity and push more premium products despite an ongoing slowdown in demand, particularly for mass products. Some of these firms are investing more than ever before as they are hopeful of a demand revival in the new fiscal. «We are investing 7-8% of our turnover on capex, which is much higher than it ever was,» Nestle chairman Suresh Narayanan said. «Despite stress points in demand, there's a wealth effect phenomenon that is taking place… Stock markets have been booming and those at upper middle class and middle class, they feel good about what they are buying,» he said. «Food inflation is hurting but we are hopeful that once inflation abates, things will be better,» Narayanan said. The maker of Maggi noodles and Nescafe coffee has committed investments of ₹6,500 crore into the India market till 2025, over a five-year window.