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Biscuits and chocolate: Mondelēz targets 'resilient' categories for US and Europe growth

Mondelēz International wants to bolster business further in developed markets, focusing on biscuits in the US and chocolate in Europe, as snacking continues to gain momentum globally, its CEO says.

Worldwide, Mondelēz International generated net revenues of €33.2 billion ($38.5bn) in 2025, with 60% coming from developed markets. Europe – the company's biggest market – contributed €12.95bn ($15bn) to net revenues, up 8.2% CAGR in the last five years, and North America – the second largest market – around €9.5bn ($11bn), up 3.9% CAGR.

Speaking at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) 2026 conference, held in Florida, Dirk Van de Put, CEO of Mondelēz International, said these two developed markets remain key to future growth for the company.

Biscuits and chocolate are ‘resilient’ core categories

As Mondelēz works to build out business further in the US and Europe, Van de Put said focus will be on chocolate, biscuits and baked snacks, core categories that today account for approximately 80% of net revenues worldwide.

“These categories remain resilient and durable even during challenging times,” the CEO said, and Mondelēz has a “stable of iconic brands” in these spaces that hold strong equity amongst consumers – Oreo and Cadbury being two strong examples.

And as snacking, which these three categories play into, continues to grow globally as “the most dynamic and attractive space in food”, he said there remains plenty of opportunities worldwide for growth. Category focus and strategies, however, will differ depending on markets, he said.

Biscuit focus for North America

In North America, for example, Mondelēz plans to enhance consumer-centric product offerings and invest in supply chain improvements to upgrade operations of biscuits – a category that represents 62% of total revenues in the region, “anchored by the iconic Oreo brand”, Van de Put said.

And whilst US business remains strong for Mondelēz, he said the company must address shifting shopper behaviours, including unease around pricing and subsequent channel shifts as well as higher income consumers seeking new premium options and health-conscious functional snacks.

“With biscuit baskets sizes virtually flat over the last two years, it is critical that our brands stand out more than others,” he said. The company will therefore bolster presence and awareness in-store via “bigger, more exciting activations”, as well as iterate to hit “the right price points”.

A “comprehensive supply chain improvement program” is set to optimise costs by early 2027 and the company is also “investing aggressively” to expand total distribution across club, value and convenience stores, he said.

“We are strongly committed to improving the performance of our North American business, and we're investing in a robust strategic plan to deliver it,” Van de Put said.

Chocolate priorities in Europe

In Europe, the CEO said Mondelēz will be expanding premium chocolate offerings and improving cocoa sourcing practices and visibility around these actions to flesh out business further in its biggest global market.

“Chocolate accounts for about half of our European business, anchored by the Cadbury and Milka brands, each delivering $3 billion in net revenue,” he said. And whilst chocolate “remains a great category” with a lot of brand loyalty across Europe, there are ongoing challenges related to cocoa input cost inflation. Cocoa-led pricing and pack resizing, for example, have impacted short-term volumes for Mondelēz “more significantly than expected”, the CEO said.

To overcome this, the company will be adapting prices to appeal more to consumers, as well as broadening offerings and scaling up premium, he said. At the same time, it will work to strengthen resilience across its cocoa supply chain, he said. “With last year's cocoa disruption behind us, and the strong actions we're putting in place, we remain confident that the future prospect of the European chocolate market is great,” Van de Put said.