Milling & Baking News - September 10, 2019 - 28

Cookie Update

Brand buildouts and acquisitions
highlight changes in cookie category

he cookie category is approaching a
$9 billion business after a strong 52week period in which dollar sales
increased 2.7%, according to Information
Resources, Inc., a Chicago-based market
research firm.
In the 52 weeks ended Aug. 11, dollar sales in the cookie category totaled
$8,891,845,852, while unit sales were
3,612,796,513, according to I.R.I.
Strength in the segment could be
traced across most of the top four players, led by Mondelez International, Inc.,
which accounts for 38% of the category's
dollar sales.
Dollar sales at Deerfield, Ill.-based Mondelez totaled $3,391,302,060 in the 52 weeks
ended Aug. 11, up 4.1% from the same period a year ago, boosted in part by a 1.7%
increase in unit sales during the period.
Mondelez, which owns the four largest brands in the category,
benefited most from an 8.6%
increase in dollar sales in its
base Nabisco Oreo business
as well as a 13% increase in
dollar sales in Nabisco Oreo
Double Stuf.
Dirk van de Put, chairman
and chief executive officer of
Mondelez, during a secondquarter conference call at the

PRARIE CITY BAKERY

end of July said Mondelez's
cookie category is in "very
good shape," attributing the
strength to a variety of factors.
"North America, as you
know, it's 80% of our business," he said. "We have outstanding results for brands
like Oreo or belVita, which
means that we are driving
the category growth. We see
the pricing come through ...
and as we are gaining share.
We also are seeing clearly
that we have the benefit now
PEPPERIDGE FARM
of D.S.D. We have excellent
execution in D.S.D. in this quarter. And
the other thing that has been changing is
the retailer destocking is slowing down.
So overall, we feel that there is good momentum in the consumption
of our brands. We feel that
this momentum is going to
continue."
McKee Foods Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn., posted dollar
sales of $628,548,362 in the 52
weeks ended Aug. 11, up 2%
from the same period a year
ago, according to I.R.I. The
market research firm noted

MacDaddys sees Whole Foods
as a 'game changer'
DELRAY BEACH, FLA. - MacDaddys Righteous Cookies, based in Delray Beach, Fla., says its products will begin selling in Whole Foods Markets in 29 stores across Florida this fall. The company,
which started in 2018, is using United Natural Foods Inc. as its
preferred distributor in the Whole Foods deal.
"This will definitely be a game changer as far as the MacDaddys brand is concerned," said Corey Brysman, owner and founder
of MacDaddys Righteous Cookies. "I am excited as well as extremely encouraged that a first class organization like Whole
Foods is giving MacDaddys this amazing opportunity. We honestly feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that getting shelf placement
in Whole Foods Markets gives the brand immediate credibility as
well as exposure to a very wide audience. And at the same time
connects us with a major national distributor, which in turn opens
the brand up for potential regional as well as national level distriMACDADDYS RIGHTEOUS COOKIES
bution within all channels of the snack food space."
MacDaddys Cookies are baked and packaged in southern Florida. Mr. Brysman said the company's manufacturer has the capacity to significantly ramp up production in order to handle the
increased demand.
MacDaddys offers 6-oz bags with approximately 20 bite-sized cookies. The original recipe is
a combination or oatmeal, raisin, chocolate chips, walnuts and cinnamon. A second flavor -
Coconut Craze - is being developed. MBN

strength in McKee's Little Debbie cookies and Little Debbie
Nutty Bars, up 0.5% and 3.9%,
respectively.
McKee added to its cookie
portfolio with the May acquisition of Prairie City Bakery, a
Vernon Hill, Ill.-based provider
of fully-baked, thaw-and-sell
bakery solutions for the convenience store, food service and
in-story bakery channels.
Prairie City Bakery offers
125 varieties of individuallywrapped and bulk food service products, including cinnamon rolls, Danish, cookies,
donuts, donut holes in a cup, brownies
and Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes.
"We sought to acquire Prairie City Bakery
because they built a great brand with quality, innovative products that satisfy specific
retail customer needs," said Mike McKee,
president and c.e.o. of McKee Foods.
Pepperidge Farm, Inc., a subsidiary of
Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup Co.,
also has turned in solid results in its cookie business over the past year. According
to I.R.I., cookie dollar sales of Pepperidge
Farm increased 3.8% over the past 52
weeks to $434,558,099.
Pepperidge's Milano cookies are
its biggest brand, with dollar sales of
$165,438,048 in the 52 weeks ended Aug.
11, up 3% from the same period a year
ago, according to I.R.I.
But quickly gaining traction for Pepperidge are Farmhouse Thin & Crispy
cookies. Introduced in April 2017, the
brand had double-digit consumption
gains in the most recent quarter, said
Mark A. Clouse, president and c.e.o. of
Campbell Soup Co.
Farmhouse cookies are available in
five varieties: Toffee milk chocolate, triple chocolate, dark chocolate chip, milk
chocolate chip and white chocolate chip.
Meanwhile, the future of the Keebler,
Famous Amos, Mother's and Murray
cookie brands will be interesting to watch
after Battle Creek, Mich.-based Kellogg
Co. sold its cookie business earlier this
year to the Ferrero Group, Luxembourg,
as part of a transaction valued at $1.3 billion. Kellogg said the divesture was part
of its strategic review and restructuring,
while Ferrero welcomed the brands as
part of its entry into new strategic product categories. MBN
- Eric Schroeder

28 / September 10, 2019

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Milling & Baking News - September 10, 2019

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