Snack Maker Goes Direct-To-Consumer With Holiday Cookie Website

The maker of Oreo cookies hopes to take advantage of the growing number of U.S. consumers buying food and beverages online. Mondelez launched a website this month to sell holiday Oreo tins for $19.99. The site lets customers send cookies to friends using only a mobile number or e-mail address. The technology was developed by a 60-person in-house e-commerce team – tasked with generating $1 billion in e-tail sales by 2020 – after Mondelez found last year that the cost of outsourced e-commerce development and management cut into profits. The company’s new technology will be used to sell other products online in the U.S. and abroad. Whether food manufacturers can succeed at online direct-to-consumer brand marketing without Amazon’s logistical clout remains to be seen.