Mondelēz International, Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire Clif Bar & Company, a U.S. maker of nutritious energy bars with organic ingredients, for $2.9 billion with additional contingent earnout consideration. The acquisition of brands CLIF®, LUNA® and CLIF Kid® expands Mondelēz International’s global snack bar business to more than $1 billion, including its complementary refrigerated snacking business Perfect Snacks in the U.S. and performance nutrition business Grenade in the U.K. This acquisition also advances the company’s strategy to reshape its portfolio to sustain higher long-term growth.
“We are thrilled to welcome Clif Bar & Company’s iconic brands and passionate employees into the Mondelēz International family,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International. “This transaction further advances our ambition to lead the future of snacking by winning in chocolate, biscuits and baked snacks as we continue to scale our high-growth snack bar business. […] Clif Bar & Company embodies our purpose to ‘empower people to snack right’ and we look forward to advancing this important work with Clif’s committed colleagues in the years ahead.”
“Mondelēz International is the right partner at the right time to support Clif in our next chapter of growth,” said Sally Grimes, Chief Executive Officer, Clif Bar & Company. “Our purposes and cultures are aligned and being part of a global snacking company with broad product offerings can help us accelerate our growth while staying true to our deeply ingrained Five Aspirations – sustaining our people, planet, community, business, and brands – five bottom lines that have grounded our company since its founding and will remain our North Star going forward.”
The acquisition of Clif Bar & Company will build on Mondelēz International’s continued prioritisation of fast-growing snacking segments in key geographies. This progress followed a year of snacking growth in 2021, including the acquisitions of Grenade, Gourmet Food Holdings and Hu.
Alice Popple, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “Mondelez’s initiative to expand its snack business highlights people’s persistent demand for easy, convenient, on-the-go food. Globally, 47%* of consumers deem ‘convenience’ to be essential when making a purchase, which reinforces the motive behind Mondelez’s recent acquisition to take over successful snack brand Clif. However, the snack aspect of Clif’s energy bars is not its main selling point, as the products feature energy-boosting claims. The demand for energy boosting ingredients is high following the pandemic, with 35%** of global consumers deeming this to be essential when making a purchase, and 48%** agreeing that it is nice to have.”
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