Mondelez International Looks Back

After making a monumental change, it's natural to look back in order to see how far ones come. Last week I got to do just that, as a guest of Mondelez International in New York City. 

Mondelez International, for those that don't know, is the snack food business split from well-known Kraft Foods. Pronounced "mohn-dah-LEEZ," it means delicious world. In fact, coming soon is a new video segment of VendingMarketWatch News with Paul Schindelar who explains not only how the name was derived but what the split means for the vending industry. Watch for a special invitation for the newscast in your mailbox.

New York Mall Displays Nabisco History

Back to New York…one of the subsidiaries of Mondelez International is Nabisco, originally coined the National Biscuit Co. in 1898. It was the merging of over 100 bakeries across the U.S. and headquartered in New York City, in what is now Chelsea Market, an upscale shopping mall in the Chelsea area of lower Manhattan.

Even after two remodels and more than 100 years, the location still pays tribute to Nabisco. Images, maps and advertisements grace the walls. One famous icon is of a boy in yellow rain gear holding a box of Nabisco biscuits. According to the Mondelez International tour guide, the advertisement became synonymous with quality packaging, something few biscuit companies had at that time. "These biscuits wouldn't get wet, even in the rain," said the tour guide. Right next to the boy in a rain slicker was an old Oreo ad, the iconic cookie quite recognizable. It's been part of the Nabisco product line for a century.

The brands of Mondelez are well known to vending operators, whether its Nabisco Oreo cookies or Trident gum. And from what the manufacturer says, there's more to come. With a new name, the snacking powerhouse promises more positive consumer messages and innovation. Maybe in 100 years we'll see those ads plastered on the walls of a floating George-Jetson-style mall. We'll see.