Cadbury India, a name which has had a sweet connect with consumers for over six decades now, will soon be rechristened Mondelez India, after its US-based parent company Mondelez International which had acquired Cadbury Plc globally in 2010. The move is expected to coincide with the company moving out of its iconic headquarters ‘Cadbury House’ at the busy junction in the uppity Peddar Road in Mumbai in June this year.

Cadbury House, and the accompanying Bournville Apartments, where the company’s top officials reside was sold to diamond merchant Dilip Lakhi for under Rs 400 crore late last year. While the name Mondelez does not have a great recall among consumers in India, managing director Manu Anand believes that wouldn’t clash with the popularity of its household brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5-Star, Gems and now Tang and Oreo. Mondelez is the new corporate identity for the erstwhile Kraft Foods after a restructuring two years back. The Indian arm is now following suit. The global acquisition also prompted a culture change at the largest chocolate maker that has been in India since 1948. The name change signals a makeover of sorts for the Brit-turned- American confectioner, which aims to become the largest snacking company in the country. “We are a multi platform company and obviously we want to be the number one snacking company,” Anand said, spelling out his vision for the organization.

Name changes are not new to multinationals operating in India. In 2007, Unilever’s Indian subsidiary got rechristened as Hindustan Unilever. So strong was the Indian connection to Unilever that it retained ‘Hindustan’ in its corporate name in India, which is perhaps the only exception in the Unilever universe.

But, as they say, brands speak louder to consumers than the names of their makers. Several FMCG companies, including Britannia, Parle, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Dabur and Emami, have strong association with consumers for the products they make, whether it’s biscuits, toothpastes, beverages, hair oils or skin creams.

Anand, who took over as MD of the roughly Rs 4,000 crore Cadbury India in October last year, does not feel it necessary to conduct an awareness drive on the name change. But the move does
reflect a certain sense of urgency to mirror Mondelez International’s global portfolio in India. What bolsters this view is the fact that India is a fast-growing market not just for chocolates
but for biscuits as well. “Today, within Mondelez, we are the fourth largest country in Oreo in volumes today, after the US, China and Brazil,” said Anand.

India is a key country in Mondelez International’s global scheme and the focus, said Anand, will be on the power brands. Besides Cadbury, Oreo and Tang, the $36-billion Mondelcz International’s portfolio includes billion-dollar brands Milka chocolate, Jacobs coffee, Toblerone, Nabisco and Trident gums. As the company prepares to vacate Cadbury House and move into its new corporate office in Lower Parel, Mumbai in June, one wonders what would be the fate of the iconic name of the building which has popularised the junction where it exists?

Mondelez India today announced the launch of yet another product innovation in the premium chocolate category, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo. The product format is widely loved by consumers in several international markets – Cadbury Diary Milk Oreo in UK and Australia and Milka Oreo in Germany, Spain and France.

Globally successful formats backed by the strength of Cadbury Dairy Milk brand in India have unleashed the premium segment and by launching this chocolate in India, the company aims to further seize the growing opportunity in the premium chocolate category. After the successful launch of India’s first ‘centrefilled’ Chocolate – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Caramello, India’s first ‘aerated’ Chocolate – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Bubbly, and most recently global innovation bundles Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations and Cadbury Fuse, with Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo, Mondelez India is taking innovation one notch higher, by bringing the Biscuit & Chocolate category under one product. With this launch, Mondelez India has yet again combined its deep consumer insights, global expertise in chocolate and breakthrough innovation capabilities. Talking about the new innovation, Prashant Peres, Director – Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India said, “We are really excited to launch one of our globally loved platforms in India, in the form of Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo.

Indian consumers now demand unique formats and eat experiences and given our global leadership in chocolate, we are well positioned to identify and bring some of our world leading brands to India. What’s special about Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo is its unique product format with smooth, creamy, Silk on the outside and crunchy Oreo cookie & vanilla cream on the inside, which melt in your mouth to give you an indulgent yet crunchy Silk experience. The next few years will be exciting for us especially with India’s chocolate market poised to be one of the fastest in the world.

We see this as a huge opportunity to expand our chocolate footprint within the country” The launch of Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo will be supported by a 360-degree communication campaign, designed to demonstrate the soft, smooth and crunchy Silk experience, which will include a new TVC, innovative Outdoor & Digital campaigns and strong in-store visibility. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo is first available for preview at Big Bazaar & Paytm, followed by the official launch in 100,000 traditional trade and modern stores, in early January 2017. Priced at Rs. 75 and Rs. 170, adbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo is all set to give chocolate lovers a Silk experience full of crunch & indulgence! Mondelez India is the market leader in the chocolate category with the largest market share – over 65% (as per Nielsen) of the Rs. 7,500 crores (approx) in India for over five years (since 2010). The biggest chocolate brand in India continues to be Cadbury Dairy Milk portfolio, currently at 41% (as per Nielsen) market share.