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UK biscuit maker pladis targets Chinese snack market for growth

Pladis, the maker of iconic British biscuit brand McVitie’s, aims to boost disappointing profits by targeting China with products tailored to Chinese preferences.

McVitie’s is stepping up its ambitions in China with a strategy that “looks beyond” the biscuits that made the British brand famous.

At a glance:

• Pladis is aiming to transform McVitie’s – an iconic British biscuit brand – into a €1 billion global brand.
• China will be an initial focus, tapping into the country’s €64 billion snacks market.
• It has developed a range based on “Chinese tastes and shopping habits”, it says.

In a significant move, owner pladis launched a locally-developed and -produced McVitie’s Flipz range in August. Rather than exporting existing products from Europe, pladis developed the range “around Chinese tastes and shopping habits”, from flavours and portion sizes to how the products are made and sold.

Available initially in Shanghai and Guangzhou, the range combines McVitie’s branding with Flipz's chocolate-coated pretzel format and will launch in three flavours selected for the Chinese market: matcha honey, lemon Basque cheesecake, and chocolate hazelnut. The range has also been developed in a smaller, bite-sized format “to reflect local snacking habits”.

The innovation is part of the company’s ambition to build McVitie’s into a £1 billion (€1.17 billion) global brand, with China seen among the markets with the highest growth potential.

“[...] we're looking at how the McVitie's brand can play a bigger role across snacking, reaching new consumers through new products and formats,” explained chief commercial officer David Murray, adding that there were “more products and markets in the pipeline”.

Pladis: Seeking snack solutions to profit problems

In China, the sweet biscuit market is worth around £5 billion (€5.85 billion) and has grown at a 5.6% CAGR over the past decade, according to pladis, which also manufactures Godiva, a premium chocolate brand, in the country.

The total snacks market in China is expected to reach CNY488 billion (€64 billion) in retail value in 2026, expanding by 2%, according to Euromonitor’s latest forecasts. There is an ongoing shift towards “cautious consumption and greater selectivity in spending”, however, with the landscape “highly competitive and fragmented and with no player holding more than a 3% share”, the experts noted.

Affordability, regional flavour authenticity, and channel innovation, are key drivers of growth.

“By developing McVitie’s Flipz around local tastes, local channels and local snacking habits, we are creating a proposition that is designed for China from the outset,” said Manoj Loya, managing director, APAC at pladis, adding: “China is a strategically important market for pladis, with one of the world’s largest and most dynamic snacking audiences. Consumers here are highly engaged with new flavours, formats, and digital shopping channels.”

Figures published in September show revenues increased 1.2% to £3.3 billion (€3.86 billion) at pladis, which also owns Turkish food and beverage manufacturer Ülker, as well as other brands including Jacob’s, Carr’s, and Verkade.

Branded sales accounted for approximately 90% of pladis’ revenue last year. EBITDA however fell to £473.7 million (€554 million) in 2025, compared with £494.5 million (€578.4 million) in 2024, with operating profit of £301.6 million (€352.8 million) against the previous year’s £344.4 million (€402.8 million).

The results reflected a “demanding year” for the wider food industry, shaped by commodity inflation, currency volatility, and macroeconomic headwinds, the company said.

Sridhar Ramamurthy, chief financial officer at pladis, called the business’s performance “resilient” having “maintained market-leading positions in the UK, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere”. It was also “achieved in a year that tested every part of the food industry”, he added.

Responsible-sourcing response to ingredient risks

This year, pladis also launched a new global sustainability strategy, which includes a commitment to be net-zero by 2050 and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with science-based targets (by 58.8% across scopes 1 and 2 and 35% for scope 3). In 2025, the company’s total emissions stood at 3.486 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

Pladis also committed to “ensure all cocoa and palm oil used in our products will be fully traceable and verified to farm level by 2030” and to “source key ingredients deforestation-free by 2030” and earlier in the EU in line with deforestation regulations (EUDR).”

It said: “We're responding to systemic risks, like cocoa supply volatility driven by climate change, and by investing in more resilient and regenerative sourcing models,” the company noted in its strategy, ‘Happy People, Happy Planet’.

Procurement of certified sustainable ingredients – for example palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), deforestation-free cocoa, and regenerative agriculture wheat – has also increased “to align with retailer and consumer expectations for ethical and transparent sourcing”.

“Furthermore, we are exploring cost-effective alternatives, as a measure of resilience. Maintaining the taste and quality of traditional pladis goods is at the core of all product-related R&D and continues to be a focus as we explore innovative solutions to enhance the sustainability of our product lines,” reads the recently-published 2025 annual report.