The veteran executive said that repeated shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran war and rampant global inflation have made it “much more difficult” for businesses like Mondelēz to operate in Europe.
“I would say this has probably been the toughest two years I’ve seen, and I’ve been a CEO for 15 years – it’s quite extraordinary,” he said on a recent BBC Sounds podcast.
Van de Put defends decision to remain in Russia
The manufacturer behind Cadbury, Oreo, Toblerone and Ritz has seen its fair share of disruption, with production facilities in Ukraine and Bahrain repeatedly damaged or partly destroyed.
That said, the company still maintains a presence in Russia despite the war in Ukraine and its direct consequences for Mondelēz’s own operations there.
“The reason why we stayed is the people, and the people that depend upon the business,” he said.
“Leaving Russia would have left 3,000 of our people without a job and would have impacted 10,000 farmers. Over time you try to be neutral in the conflict, we’re not trying to take any side and we’re doing the right thing in Ukraine, and the right thing for our people in Russia.”
Van de Put added that if Mondelēz had withdrawn, company assets would have been taken over by the government there and used to directly fund the war.
Conceding that its decision not to leave was “not a popular one”, he maintains it was the correct choice.
HFSS regulations give Mondelēz a headache
The interview also touched on the impact of the UK’s high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) regulations on confectionery companies such as Mondelēz, and how they could affect the manufacturer’s future investment in the country.
Van de Put claimed that measures such as HFSS and other taxes on less healthy foods introduced by the UK and European governments do not “fundamentally change the habits of people”.
“You change habits because you educate them and they get conscious about it. We feel like we should work a lot harder on our kids, and how we educate them about nutrition.”
Van de Put added that Mondelēz has spent £40 million reformulating its products to comply with HFSS regulations that have since changed, calling it money “down the drain”.
Striking an even more critical tone, he added: “And a lot of this isn’t even based on real science, with the whole discussion based around ultra-processed foods (UPFs), nobody can even say what UPF is. I think the FDA in the US has admitted it doesn’t know what the definition is exactly.”
Ultimately, Van de Put said - the ‘shaky’ UK regulations could impact future Mondelez investment in the country.
“We’ve got 100 different targets relating to nutrition. The UK is very important to us, it’s our second biggest country so I cannot neglect it, but it makes you doubt a little bit how much should we invest in the UK if this is the environment we have to deal with.”
