Mondelez mulls bid to double Cadbury biscuit lineup

Mondelez International could be about to double the number of products under its Cadbury biscuit range as it looks to use the one billion dollar brand’s profile to help dominate the category.

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Cadbury is considering adding to its biscuit lineup, which already includes Cadbury Fingers.

The snack maker has trademarked the Cadbury “Oaties”, “Rich T’s”, “Wheaties” and “Shorties” names as potential titles for the latest additions to its lineup in the UK. Any national rollout of the four prospective brands would join the existing Cadbury Fingers, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Animals and BiscBits biscuits.

Should a launch occur, Mondelez will be hoping to emulate the popularity previous Cadbury extensions and cross-brand tie-ups have garnered among consumers. The business has been using the Cadbury brand to introduce lesser-known snacks such as Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Ritz biscuits to the UK. Mondelez aims to stretch those brands across multiple categories rather than continuing to focus on specific categories where growth has plateaued.

Mondelez declined to comment on any potential move but refused to rule out additions to its Cadbury biscuit range moving forward. In a statement the company said: “Cadbury registers many names but it does not necessarily mean they will come to market. If we create any such product under this name, we will announce details closer to the time of launch.”

The business launched its Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations in 2012 just months after it said the product’s trademark did not signal a definite launch.

Cadbury-branded biscuit are manufactured and marketed by Burtons in the UK. The deal, which dates back to 2010, means all the chocolatier’s biscuits are baked in the UK by Burtons. It has lead to raft of seasonal products to supplement the core range including the Cadbury Crème Egg biscuits launch earlier this year. The biscuit maker declined to comment on any potential Cadbury initiatives.

Biscuits are the key category for the company globally with the UK being one of its priority markets. It completed an overhaul of its marketing team in the summer to accelerate the plan, which it expects to treble its size in the category by 2020. Mondelez trailed market leader United Biscuits’ 21.8 per cent share of the UK market in 2013 with just 9.8 per cent.