“Innovation is the lifeblood of UK chocolate manufacturing”
Although our brands are known worldwide, Mondelēz International is a relatively new company that was formed in 2012. Comprising of some of the world’s most famous brands from the former Kraft Foods Inc, Mondelēz International creates many of the best loved global chocolate brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Tolberone. The chocolate category is a very important part of the business, making up more than a quarter of our sales in addition to gum, candy, biscuits, coffee and cheese.
Chocolate has always been at the heart of our business. We’re the biggest chocolate manufacturer in the UK and nine of our brands (including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Twirl, Roses, Creme Egg, Green & Black’s and Crunchie) are in the top 25 UK favourites. But to maintain our market position we need to be constantly offering our customers new products and experiences.
Innovation is essential to remain competitive
Innovation is the lifeblood of UK chocolate manufacturing and essential to remaining competitive. The UK and Ireland are the biggest consumers of chocolate per capita in Europe, yet in a mature market, brands need to fight hard to carve out market share and entice the consumer. Retailers are also keen for us to create new products that will catch the eye of their shoppers.
Developing exciting new brands has always been something on which we pride ourselves. Chocolate R&D has been taking place at the Bournville site for more than 130 years, ever since the factory opened in 1879. The site is now home to the Mondelēz International Global Centre of Excellence for Chocolate R&D and new facilities were opened here in March 2012, following a £17 million (€20.2m) investment in R&D across the UK. We employ a team of almost 200 people, working in innovation labs, a pilot plant facility and a ‘collaboration kitchen’ – a creative space for experimentation with new ideas.
Evolving manufacturing capabilities
Yet this quest for innovation presents a number of challenges. Manufacturing more complex products requires more sophisticated technology, equipment, and expertise. The whole business is passionate about the entirety of the manufacturing process, and we strive to ensure our manufacturing capabilities evolve to match the pace of innovation.
Taking these new innovations from the lab and turning them into a viable product requires a great deal of time and investment, but we love the excitement of introducing new, exciting lines to the market. For example, our recently launched Marvellous Creations bar contains combinations of cookie, nuts, jelly and popping candy within Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and has more inclusions than any of our previous lines. As a result, we needed to upgrade our machinery, as previous equipment wouldn’t have delivered this complex product.
An educated workforce
Although the new equipment is crucial to production, ultimately our people are the key to ensuring the manufacturing process keeps pace with the innovation programme. New technology requires new expertise, therefore we need to focus on up-skilling all of our employees to ensure we have the know-how.
That’s why we are educating our workforce to create highly specialised expert teams on our chocolate lines. We’re lucky to have loyal staff and a low staff turnover in our plants, so we know that investing in training and up-skilling our people will result in long-term benefits to the business. Apprentices also provide us with fresh minds, and as we work with them from the beginning of their careers, we can make sure they are up to speed with the latest equipment from day one.
But we also know that we can’t take our eyes of the basics. The end-to-end supply chain needs to be fluid, fast, safe and efficient to ensure our products reach the shelves, every day, and are of the highest quality. Every penny saved through efficiency measures is a penny we can channel directly into innovation, so we’re also concentrating on how we can improve the fundamentals of our manufacturing processes.
Often it’s our people on the floor who provide the solutions to make these changes. Twelve months ago we introduced Plant Optimisation Teams, formed from groups of operators, technicians and managers who provide insight into potential efficiencies. This is proving very successful in generating ideas to improve our manufacturing process. Since 2010 we have also channelled £130m (€154.4m) into our UK operations, installing new equipment and technology to increase efficiencies. This has included an investment in our Marlbrook plant which has allowed us to reduce the energy footprint involved in evaporation of milk. It’s through savings like these that we are able to invest continually in NPD and innovation, keeping Mondelēz International’s products fresh and relevant for our customers.
The UK has a strong manufacturing base, and a heritage that cannot be overlooked. We are experts in chocolate production and I believe we will continue to be the leaders in the industry for years to come. But to remain competitive on a global scale, we must not only be proficient in the day-to-day processes, but also stay focused on the future – driving innovation and investing in our workforce to maintain our crown in the years to come.
By Neil Chapman, Director of UK chocolate manufacturing at Mondelēz International
