Kraft's odd new business name
The company shoots for international appeal as it prepares to spin off its snacks division.
That was the reaction all around as Kraft Foods (KFT) announced the name of the global snacks business it plans to spin off. The name, with a macron mark and all, is Mondelēz International.
Quite an exotic name for a division that will include brands like Trident gum, Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates. Kraft says the name is a portmanteau of two words. "Monde" is the Latin word for "world," and "delēz" is a way to say "delicious."
It's a name that had many marketing experts stumped. "This is both difficult to say and to decipher the meaning," brand expert Cheryl Swanson told The Wall Street Journal.
Companies go through huge prep work when it comes to picking a brand name, and Kraft tested its name across 28 languages. Maybe it should have tested a little more, as AdAge reports that the word Mondelēz sounds like a Russian term for a sexual act.
Kraft said Russian was one of the 28 languages it covered in focus-group testing. "We determined misinterpretations in any of the languages to be low-risk," a spokesman said. Kraft will now ignore all snickering from Russia, thank you very much.
Are we seeing another Incubus? That was the name of a woman's running shoe from Reebok in the late 1990s, the Journal reports. Incubus is the same name of a mythical spirit that has sex with women in their sleep. The company recalled the shoes.
Jim Cramer discusses Kraft's decision to split in the following video.
Post continues below.
Kraft is clearly trying to expand the global appeal of its $31 billion snacks business. It's by far the largest business under the company, and nearly twice the value of Kraft's $17 billion grocery business (which will continue to be called Kraft Foods).
Shareholders will have the final say in whether "Mondelēz International" will move forward. They get to vote on the name at their May 23 meeting.
| Tags: | KFTKim Peterson |
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