17.07.2024
News
Mondelez plans to close Enjoy Life, will “refocus and narrow” its allergen-free product range
In 2015, Mondelēz acquired Enjoy Life, a privately held snack food company in the fast-growing “free from” segment. A year later, it opened a 200,000-square-foot plant in Indiana, near Louisville, Kentucky.
But since then, several companies have entered the category, which avoids using allergens such as tree nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, sesame, and fish in its products. The influx of competitors has prompted Mondelēz to rethink its strategy, and while it is not exiting the category entirely, it is reducing the number of products it intends to produce.
“While we remain committed to Enjoy Life Foods, we must ensure that ELF continues to grow in a way that makes business sense,” Enjoy Life Foods said in a statement emailed to Food Dive. “As part of this change, we have decided to exit the lease for ELF’s Jeffersonville, Indiana manufacturing plant as we refocus and narrow our portfolio.”
Mondelēz did not respond to a request for comment on which products it will discontinue.
The company plans to carry out several rounds of production cessation starting July 3. The last round is expected to take place on April 1, 2024.
In recent years, Mondelez has been building its snacking portfolio through acquisitions to complement the dominant position it already has with brands such as Oreo and Ritz. Under the leadership of CEO Dirk Van de Put, Mondelēz has acquired products such as Clif Bar, Hu, Tate’s Bake Shop, and a majority stake in Perfect Snacks.
Like other companies, Mondelēz must constantly evaluate which brands are worthy of its limited time and money.
With a strong portfolio of brands, Mondelēz has decided to focus more on these products rather than overinvest in a crowded category. It is not yet known which products Enjoy Life will keep, but it is likely that it will continue to produce those that are the best-selling, fastest growing, or leading in a particular food category.
This is a similar strategy that Coca-Cola recently used. The Atlanta-based company is shrinking its beverage lineup, prioritizing a smaller number of big brands that have the greatest opportunity for scale and profitable growth. This strategy has prompted it to sell or discontinue dozens of brands, such as Honest tea, Tab, Odwalla, and Zico coconut water.