RUSSIA – Global snack giant Mondelēz International has planned to make its Russian business a standalone operation with a self-sufficient supply chain by the end of 2023.
The company added that it has embarked on scaling back the operations of the business in the country as a senior executive at the company reportedly claimed the snacks giant has been “singled out” over its presence in Russia.
There has been a growing “corporate boycott” implemented against the brand by Northern European countries in recent months.
Other news sources report that several companies in the region have announced their intention to stop selling Mondelēz products.
Around two weeks after Russia’s incursion, Mondelez said it would focus on selling only a “basic offering” of products.
CEO Dirk Van de Put added at the time that the company would scale back “all non-essential activities” in Russia, abandon any new capital investment and suspend advertising spending.
The company, which has brands such as Oreo, Toblerone, and Cadbury in its portfolio among others, has a strong presence in Russia with local chocolate brands such as Marabou and Freia.
The publication by Ukraine’s National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption of a list of companies still with assets in Russia deemed the businesses, which included Mondelez, to be “sponsors of war.”
“Because of these actions, we are selling far fewer products and our sales are declining. This year, our overall volumes have declined by double digits, and both import volumes and market share have declined significantly,” a statement from the company read.
“In addition, we are continuing to downsize our operations and expect further declines in volumes and sales as we work to make our operations in Russia self-sufficient. We expect to make the Russian business self-sufficient with an independent supply chain by the end of the year.”
Mondelez spokesperson, who prefers to remain anonymous expressed disappointment that the company’s brands were singled out for different treatment than others and yet they made it clear that the brands are produced locally in Norway and Sweden and that no products sold in the Nordic countries are manufactured in Russia.
Additionally, the source said Mondelez has always condemned this brutal war while helping to maintain supply chain continuity with its products.
Mondelēz wrote in the statement made public in recent days that if it were to suspend all its operations, it would risk ceding them to another entity that could use all the proceeds for its interests.
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