Food Business News - February 23, 2016 - 18

is specially "positioned with gatekeeper
mom."
"Because of that it has
an incremental place in our
portfolio," he said. "It has a
nice fit that is differentiated."
Another growth opportunity appears to be meat
snacks. On Jan. 6, General
Mills acquired Epic Provisions, a meat snacks company that makes bars that are
sold nationally in such retailers as Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and Natural Grocers. Mr.
Harmening described Epic
as a small business with tremendous potential.
This past year General
Mills launched 301 Inc., a business development venture capital firm designed to work with food and beverage

ingredients
custom blends
innovation
national distribution

B.C. Williams Bakery Service
BCW Food Products
1-800-527-4104

bcwilliams.com

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

industry startups. Mr. Harmening said it was
through 301 Inc. that General
Mills came into contact with
Epic Provisions and eventually led to the acquisition.
Mr. Powell said the development of 301 Inc. was in
response to the increase of
startups in the marketplace.
"It's very important we
have a way of seeing this
explosion of activity at
an earlier stage," he said.
"Whereas in the past we
may have been looking for
a particular sales threshold, today it's good to see
it earlier and see where it's
turning off the shelf. That
is an early indication of the
power of an idea. It gives us the ability to
see the little jewels, to see those businesses with real potential." FBN

MONDELEZ
'Lines of the Future' steadily proliferating

BOCA RATON, FLA. - By 2018, new, highly
efficient production "Lines of the Future" of
Mondelez International, Inc. will account for
70% of the production of the company's leading brands, said Brian Gladden, executive
vice-president and chief financial officer.
Mr. Gladden, together with chairman and
chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld,
spoke Feb. 17 at the Consumer Analyst
Group of New York Conference at the Boca

Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton.
The 2018 target of 70% compares with
about 25% of "power brand" production currently and 15% in 2013.
"At the end of 2015, we had 35 'Lines of
the Future' installed around the world, and
we expect to double that number over the
next few years," he said. "These lines offer
tremendous advantages as they deliver about
400 to 600 basis points of savings, on average, as compared to our older lines."
The capital spending program is a central
part of efforts to help Mondelez lift margins
toward a 2018 goal of 17% to 18%. The company ended 2015 with a margin of 13.2%, an
increase of 250 basis points since 2013.
"Our Salinas, Mexico, facility opened in late
2014, but really started to ramp production in
the second half of 2015," Mr. Gladden said. "At
the end of the year, the plant had seven lines
producing our key power brands, such as
Oreo, Ritz and Chips Ahoy!. We are installing

February 23, 2016

http://www.bcwilliams.com

Food Business News - February 23, 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Business News - February 23, 2016