FDBusiness.com

Global snacking giant Mondelez International has acquired Enjoy Life Foods, a private US snacking company and the market leading brand in the fast-growing ‘free from’ segment, for an undisclosed price. Enjoy Life offers more than 40 products, including cookies, chocolate, snack bars, and savoury snacks that are allergy-friendly and gluten-free. Enjoy Life’s products are free from the eight most common allergens – wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish – which together account for about 90% of all food allergies.

“As we focus on continuing to drive growth in snacking, the acquisition of Enjoy Life Foods is a great strategic fit for us,” says Mark Clouse, chief growth officer at Mondelez International. “The Enjoy Life brand expands our portfolio into faster growing, on-trend, ‘better-for-you’ areas and provides an excellent platform to make these delicious offerings available to consumers with ‘free-from’ needs or simply looking for healthy-lifestyle options, both in the United States and beyond.”

The $12 billion ‘free-from’ market in the United States is large and growing at strong double-digit rates, driven by an increasing incidence of food allergies and food intolerances as well as consumers adopting ‘free from’ as a healthy-lifestyle option.

Mondelez International will operate Enjoy Life Foods as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary to continue to nurture its entrepreneurial spirit, but will provide back-office support and access to its global resources. The transaction was a simultaneous sign-and-close deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.