“With the additional varieties, we’re broadening the variety we can offer our excited fans that have a larger-than-life passion for cookie,” the 50-year-old brand’s senior brand manager Sofia Oliveira told ConfectioneryNews.
The new Chips Ahoy products will retail for around $3.79 per seven-ounce pack, and they are currently available at retailers across the US.
Mondelēz did not comment on the brand’s performance and strategy. But according to IRI’s multi-outlets with c-stores data regarding the US cookies category for the last 52 weeks ending Aug. 7, 2016, Mondelēz reported a total dollar sales of over $3bn with a 3.25% year-over-year increase.
The company’s Chips Ahoy brand in particular posted $643m total dollar sales, a 1.76% increase compared to the previous year
Expanding thin products under multiple brands
Mondelēz has been expanding its thin-themed snack offering under other brands in recent years.
In July, 2015, the company rolled out skinny cookie Oreo Thins cater to consumer demand for lighter bites in the US. Less than a year later, the company launched Good Thins to provide more wholesome savory snacks for US eaters.
Oreo Thins cookies has reported a remarkable 952.13% dollar sales increase, according to the same data sheet, far surpassing the dollar sales growth within the cookie category (3.25%), alebeit only in its second year.
Mondelēz’s competitor Hershey has also tapped the thins trend by acquiring barkThins in 2016. BarkThins is now available in more than 20,000 stores throughout the US.
IRI’s multi-outlets with c-stores data for the latest 52 weeks ending Oct.30, 2016 shows that the barkThins brand reported a total dollar sales of over $33m, which represents a 74.6% increase compared to the previous period.
The same data sheet shows another major thin product manufacturer, thinkThin, posted total dollar sales of $123m, a 39.3% increase compared to a year ago.