American confectionery giant Mondelez International officially acquired Greek croissant manufacturer Chipita in 2023.
This year, the company's plant in Kazichene turns 30, and for the last 3 years it has been part of Mondelez.
Darik Business Review met with Maria Lazarova, Managing Director of Mondelez Bulgaria, at her office in the Business Park in Sofia, to find out what the challenges facing a large international company are and what has changed over the last 3 years.
I want to start with chocolate inflation. Many people have felt the increase in price. In 2024, we talked to you about the increase in price of cocoa due to drought and climatic conditions in Africa. What is happening now, two years later?
Maria Lazarova: In reality, what we talked about in 2024 is still valid. Cocoa inflation is due to several factors. First, 80% of the world's cocoa production is located in West Africa.
When the climatic conditions there deteriorate, as there was a rather large drought related to climate change, this automatically leads to a serious shortage of raw materials and hence to an increase in cocoa prices.
And this is the increase, which has not actually been registered in the last 40 years or so. That's how big the deviation is.
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