Kraft’s Snack Division renamed Mondelez… a Brilliant Idea!

Kraft’s decision to name its soon-to-be-stand-alone snack division, “Mondelez” is a very smart move in more ways than one. “Monde” is derived from the Latin word for “world” and “delez” means “delicious”.  By separating the snack division from the North America focused grocery division and giving it a name that is clearly not America centric, Kraft is establishing a business that will have global appeal.

Even if most consumers never know what Mondelez means, it has an international feel and that, in and of itself, is powerful, particularly as the growth opportunities for the snack division lie outside North America. Critics of the new name, of which there are many, suggest that consumers get annoyed with names that are not intuitive or easy to pronounce. But what they are forgetting is that the products that fall under the Mondelez division all have their own powerful brand names like Oreos and Trident – the parent company name is much less important, at least to consumers.  Many other parent companies like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser and to some extent, PepsiCo have names that don’t mean anything to the consumer because the brand names they care about are stand alone brands within their product portfolios. And one should not undervalue the fact that Mondelez was created from within, by employees, one part from a North American employee and the other from Europe. Employee brand engagement and buy-in is often overlooked when companies embark on branding exercises and yet it is critical to the success of a brand initiative. When employees feel that their input matters and they have been involved in the creation of a new brand, their commitment to the success of the organization is significantly greater. Mondelez may not be an obvious name at first glance, but it is without doubt a smart strategic move – for the business and its employees.