Mondelez enters into e-commerce partnership with Alibaba

US-based food and beverage company Mondelez International has entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group with the aim of earning at least $1bn in e-commerce revenues by 2020.

The deal will help the food company to expand its business in the Chinese e-commerce market.

Mondelez International chief growth officer Tim Cofer said: "Snacking is a fast-growing sector for the e-commerce market in China and Alibaba is a powerful partner to help us capture our share of that growth by expanding our distribution channels and improving our brands’ accessibility in both rural and urban Chinese markets."

Under the partnership, Mondelez will start selling its major brands to Chinese consumers through Alibaba’s Tmall online marketplace, which is the country’s third-party business-to-consumer e-commerce platform for brands and retailers.

Mondelez products include Oreo, belVita, Toblerone, Chips Ahoy!, Cadbury and Trident.

The company will also launch exclusive products for the Chinese market, starting with Oreo Colorfilled next month.

This will enable the customers to design their own Oreo packaging.

With this move, Mondelez will join other major brands selling products on Tmall such as Walmart, which recently introduced Walmart Global Shop on the Tmall.com platform, reported Food Ingredients First.

The strategic partnership will facilitate the expansion of Mondelez International’s business strategy in China by using Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem.

Alibaba Group vice president Jet Jing said: "We look forward to helping Mondelez International fully utilise our e-commerce ecosystem and technology infrastructure to successfully build their brands and effectively reach the 407 million annual active buyers on our China retail marketplaces, who are looking for quality international products that Mondelez International provides."

Major areas of the partnership include consumer insight, branding and advertising solutions, product innovations and cloud computing, as well as increased sales and distribution channels.

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Image: Mondelez International signs a strategic e-commerce partnership with Alibaba Group. Photo: courtesy of Mondelez International.