Mondelēz and Biscoff parent expand partnership into ice cream

Dive Brief:

• Mondelēz International and Biscoff maker Lotus Bakeries are expanding their partnership into ice cream. The companies are working with Froneri, which manufactures ice cream under license for Mondelēz and other companies, to produce Biscoff-branded frozen novelties.
• Biscoff ice cream was launched in 2019 and today is sold in the U.S., U.K., and E.U. Working with Mondelēz partner Froneri will enable Lotus to expand Biscoff’s presence around the globe. Froneri will produce, market and sell Biscoff ice cream in several European countries starting in 2026, before gradually expanding into other areas. 
• Mondelēz and Lotus announced last year they were partnering to develop chocolate products that combine the taste and texture of Biscoff with Mondelēz’s Cadbury, Milka and other chocolate brands. They’ve already launched a Cadbury chocolate bar with small pieces of Biscoff inside, and a Milka product is expected to follow later this year.

Dive Insight:

Mondelēz has moved aggressively in recent years to bring its cookie and chocolate brands into other categories such as cakes, pastries and ice cream. Froneri has had a license to manufacture ice cream products using several of Mondelēz’s brands, including Oreo, Milka and Toblerone, since 2011. 

The move into ice cream allows Mondelēz and Lotus to deepen their nascent partnership and have more products at their disposal to drive innovation. Lotus noted that the “success of Biscoff ice cream over the past years has strengthened our confidence in the potential to expand our ice-cream portfolio to a global scale.”

Dirk Van de Put, Mondelēz’s CEO, said in an interview when the deal was announced last June that Biscoff provided the Oreo maker exposure to a “unique” asset it didn’t already own. “It’s going to play a unique role in our portfolio. That’s why we were interested in doing this [partnership.]”

He noted at the time that the two companies planned to come up with other products “that will use the Biscoff brand in more creative ways than just having the filling in our chocolate.” 

Biscoff, for example, already sells ice cream bars coated in chocolate. Mondelēz and Lotus could easily introduce a version where the chocolate is replaced with Milka or Cadbury. The innovation would further premiumize the ice cream offering while providing additional exposure to the chocolate brands in the frozen section. 

“This collaboration will strengthen our position in the ice cream sector, enabling Biscoff to grow into a global ice-cream brand,” Jan Boone, CEO of Lotus Bakeries, said in a statement. “Moreover, introducing the Biscoff taste to ice cream consumers worldwide will further boost our brand awareness and the ability of our own organization to focus on Biscoff cookies and spread globally.”