Kraft Foods Inc. in late March said its spinoff global snacks business will be named Mondelez International Inc. (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ'). A company statement said newly coined word combines the Latin word for world (monde) with “a fanciful expression of delicious" ("delez").
As previously reported, Kraft Foods is splitting into two public companies before the end of 2012: a global snacks business (with brands Nabisco, Cadbury, Jacobs-Suchard) and a North American grocery business (with brands Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Capri Sun and Jell-O). The North American grocery company will become Kraft Foods Group Inc.
Both companies are expected to be headquartered somewhere in the Chicago area. At present, Kraft has a huge campus in the northern suburb of Northfield, Ill.
"The Kraft brand is a perfect fit for the North American grocery business and gives it a wonderful platform on which to build an exciting future," said Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "For the new global snacks company, we wanted to find a new name that could serve as an umbrella for our iconic brands, reinforce the truly global nature of this business and build on our higher purpose – to 'make today delicious.'”
Last fall, the company invited employees from around the world to suggest names for the new global snacks company. More than 1,000 employees participated, submitting more than 1,700 names for consideration. Mondelez International was inspired by separate suggestions from two employees, one in Europe and another in North America.
