April 8, 2016

Mondelez International Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with China’s Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in the world, to expand its reach through the online sale of its products on the Chinese market. Under the terms of the agreement, Mondelez will create an online retail portal on Alibaba’s online marketplace, Tmall.com through which it will sell a wider range of its products including Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, Toblerone, Cadbury chocolates, and Trident gums.

The agreement has been forged by Mondelez as the company seeks out new ways to reach its goal of growing its e-commerce revenues, reports Food Dive, as sales for the group dropped by 13.5% last year.

“This partnership with Alibaba is a significant step toward our goal of generating e-commerce revenues of at least $1 billion by 2020,” said Tim Cofer Chief Growth Officer, Mondelez International in a company statement. “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.”

Other initiatives pursued by Mondelez to reach its e-commerce revenue goals including a partnership with the daily deal website, Zulily, embedded “buy now” buttons within its ads, and the naming of a former e-commerce leader, Christiana Shi from Nike Inc. to its board of directors effective January 4, 2016, according to Food Dive.

To enhance the venture and to deepen its penetration into the promising Chinese market, Mondelez will also be launching products through Tmall made specifically for the Chinese consumer including Oreo Colorfilled cookies, reports the Daily Herald.

If Mondelez can meet the challenges of adopting and integrating the wider use of an e-commerce retail channel, it would make the company an early adapter and give it a decided advantage over its rivals, who by and large, are only beginning to consider such a move.

Commenting on the partnership, Jet Jing, Vice President of Alibaba Group said, “We look forward to helping Mondelez International fully utilize 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.”