Mondelēz International’s innovation and venture hub, SnackFutures, has announced its expansion into the Australia/New Zealand (AU/NZ) market, with a ‘market hub’ to be created in Melbourne, Australia.

The hub has been deliberately created to accelerate growth and innovation by unlocking local insights and ideas that can help create a snacking world that is good for people, kind to the planet and deliciously fun.

“As the global snacking leader, we have the gift of mobilising talent and resources, in priority markets, to help us push the boundaries of what’s possible in snacking,” said Brigette Wolf, Head of SnackFutures Innovation.

“SnackFutures was built to disrupt the snacking industry. By going deep into regions that are on the cutting edge of consumer, cultural and environmental trends we can build tailored ecosystems to drive better, faster snack innovations that are hyper-focused on local consumers but also have global relevance.”

Australia was chosen as a base for the AU/NZ market hub because of the region’s high growth potential in the area of well-being, potential strategic partners, and teams that are ready and eager to take on the challenge.

There is also already a high level of activity and engagement underway in this market, a lot of which will be on show at a three-day agribusiness and food conference, Global Table, being held in Melbourne this week. As part of the event, SnackFutures is holding a Future of Snacking Pitch Competition, where six finalists have been selected to pitch their solutions to foster a more sustainable food system in areas such as food waste reduction, sustainable sourcing and packaging, alternative ingredients, circular and regenerative snack solutions and emerging technologies.

The two winners selected will receive acceleration coaching and mentoring from Mondelēz International experts.

“Australia and New Zealand are exploding with start-ups, innovators and thinkers at the forefront of food that promotes personal and planetary health, and the Mondelēz International team has been actively building capabilities, learnings and relationships in this space for some time,” said Amanda Banfield, President, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

“Becoming an official SnackFutures hub is very exciting for our business and the region, because we know how important better snacking is to consumers here and around the world.”