MARKING the 35th year of their partnership, Mondelez Philippines and Philippine Seven Corp. expect a 22-percent confectionery sales growth in 2019, following the favorable market response to their ongoing promotional campaign.
Mondelez Philippines Key Accounts Manager Ros Fajardo said their company is the undisputed No. 1 chocolate manufacturer in modern trade and convenience-store channels in the country, given the combined sales of their very own brands Toblerone and Cadbury.
Without citing exact figures, she said that their total chocolate business has been expanding “high double-digit” for the first quarter of this year.
“We expect to sustain this in the coming months,” she told the BusinessMirror at the sidelines of the media launch for the 35th anniversary celebration of their alliance with 7-Eleven, dubbed “TWOgether,” held in Ortigas Center on Tuesday.
Contributing to Mondelez’s improved performance are partners like 7-Eleven, one of its Top 10 retailers and also its leading convenience- store ally.
“Actually, we’re very well placed in the convenience-store channel because it allows us to be available, present and accessible to all our consumers anytime, anywhere,” she said.
Of late, Toblerone 100 grams is the most salable variant of chocolate offered over-the-counter of around 2,600 7-Eleven stores nationwide, growing by 19 percent versus last year.
“It’s a strategic brand considering that Toblerone is Toblerone,” Philippine Seven Corp. Food Section Manager Marissa Casildo said of the 111-year-old iconic triangular-shaped chocolate brand. “It’s better that we really ride the hype and the milestone of Toblerone as a brand.”
To give back to loyal patrons as the convenience store turns 35 this year, 7-Eleven customers will have the chance to bring home the “giant” Toblerone bars weighing 4.5 kilograms.
By purchasing participating Mondelez Philippines products like Toblerone and Cadbury Dairy Milk from any 7-Eleven store, they are entitled to join the e-raffle and be one of the 2,600 winners to own the biggest chocolate made especially for them. The grand draw is set on a yet-to-be-announced date in August.
“Every year, [our alliance] gets better and better because we really consider 7-Eleven to be an important strategic partner. What we do from Mondelez is to be able to grow our business together. We want to position ourselves not just as a supplier, but as a growth ally. We do this by knowing and satisfying the needs of our consumers,” Fajardo said.
Looking forward to a more strategic partnership with Mondelez, 7-Eleven seeks to sustain its domain of the “kids and mom” segment of the food category and achieve their confectionery sales growth target for the year.
“Because the sales of Toblerone with us is huge and they are one of our anchors, so definitely if their brand will grow, 7-Eleven will also grow,” Casildo said.