Based at Reading, the centre employs 290 specialists and helped develop Cadbury’s 30% reduced sugar chocolate bar, which it launched earlier this month.
The investment will support the development of new products for more than 150 countries. As a result of the cash injection, the site is expected to hire a further 50 specialist staff members over the next five years.
Continued Investment
This investment comes as part of Mondelēz’s continued plan to improve its research and development facilities. The company has committed to developing a global network of hubs across the world.
The Reading site, along with Mondelēz’s other UK-based research centre in Bournville, has received more than £23m in investment over the past seven years and this is the next step of its plan.
Louise Stigant, UK managing director at Mondelēz, said that the investment into the centre would “play a vital role in developing products for consumers not just in UK, but across the world”.
Stigant went on to note that this type of investment was vital to ensure that Mondelēz “meet[s] the changing needs of consumers while maintaining a competitive edge”.
Backing From food minister
Food minister David Rutley welcomed the new investment, highlighting the importance of the food research sector to the economy.
Given that the food and drink manufacturing sector contributes £31bn to the UK economy and employs more than 440,000 people, Rutley said that the “UK government is committed to working closely with the industry to see this success continue”.
This new investment comes during a time of expansion for Mondelēz. Talks have been ongoing to acquire Australian biscuit company Arnott’s for some time now with negotiations reportedly reaching a stalemate over recent months.
