Enjoy Life Foods bought by Mondelez

Enjoy Life Foods has been acquired by Mondelez International, owner of well-known snack brands such as Cadbury’s, Oreo, Tang, Ritz and Chips Ahoy.

The financial part of the deal has not yet been revealed by either company.

Enjoy Life Foods is famous for around 40 kinds of snack bars, cookies and savouries that are said to be free from dairy, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, eggs, shellfish and fish, which are eight of the most common food allergens, which account for 90% of all food allergies.

Enjoy Life Foods founder and CEO Scott Mandell said: "We’re thrilled. As we combine our great brand, market leadership and passion for our consumers with the global resources, scale and marketing expertise of Mondelez International, I’m confident this relationship will enable us to reach even greater heights."

Mondelez International’s chief growth officer Mark Clouse said: "As we focus on continuing to drive growth in snacking, the acquisition of Enjoy Life Foods is a great strategic fit for us.

"The Enjoy Life brand expands our portfolio into faster growing, on-trend, ‘better-for-you’ areas and provides an excellent platform to make these delicious offerings available to consumers with ‘free-from’ needs or simply looking for healthy-lifestyle options, both in the United States and beyond."

The $12bn ‘free from’ or allergen-free segment has made an impact in the healthy eating industry and is likely to reach the $18bn range by 2016, as people make more informed choices about what they eat and how it effects their heatlh.

Mandell added: "This isn’t a trend, but a seismic shift in the way people are eating and thinking about food. People care more about what they’re putting in their bodies."

He estimates that approximately 100 million Americans are allergic to some food substance or the other.

Enjoy Life Foods chief marketing officer Joel Warady said: "One of the unique parts of the acquisition is that we’re going to remain employees of Enjoy Life Foods and all members of the team are planning on remaining."

Mandell and other leaders of the Enjoy Life team will remain to lead the company, while Mondelez International will run Enjoy Life as a wholly owned subsidiary, only providing access to resources and back-office support.

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Image: Mondelez acquires snack-maker Enjoy Life Foods. Photo: courtsey of Robert Cochrane via freedigitalphotos.net.