• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 8, 2016

If you can’t buy ’em, compete head on with ’em.

Mondelez International, having been spurned in its recent attempt to acquire Hershey, the U.S.’s largest chocolate company, is nevertheless pursuing its goal to become a leading player in the $14-billion U.S. chocolate market. 

Its opening bid: Leveraging Oreo, one of the world’s most powerful brands. 

In October, Mondelez will begin selling its Milka Oreo chocolate bars -- already sold in more than 20 other countries -- in the U.S. The brand’s full national rollout will be implemented during 2017. The bars pair Oreo cookies with Milka, a chocolate bar popular in Europe.

In addition, Mondelez said it plans to “dramatically” expand its premium Green & Black’s confections offerings. It will add 70% dark chocolate in tablets and sharing and gift packs, and reportedly will add nearly 40 new varieties between now and next year. Mondelez sees Green & Black’s, an organic brand, as well-positioned for growth as consumers push for simple, clean ingredients even in indulgent products.

U.S. consumers’ continuing love of indulgences, even as they strive to live healthier lifestyles — and the market’s relatively low chocolate consumption — are why Mondelez believes that the chocolate category still has ample room for growth here. 

U.S. per-capita consumption “is only about half that of many developed European chocolate markets,” said Tim Cofer, chief growth officer, during Mondelez’s presentation at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference held in Boston this week.

Mondelez, whose Cadbury brand is marketed around the globe as well as in the U.S., is the world’s second-largest confectionary company, with roughly $13.4 billion in global sales. But it ranks eighth in the U.S., with about $326 million in sales, according to Euromonitor projections cited by The Chicago Tribune.

Mondelez also recently announced its intention to launch Milka in China, where it has a 3% market share versus Mars’s 40%, Euromonitor reports.  

The confections moves are now part of a broad strategy that calls for continued focus on expanding worldwide sales of Mondelez’s “power brands,” and its e-commerce channel, in the face of slowing snack sales growth in critical markets including India and Brazil, as well as China. 

In fiscal Q2 ended July 27, Mondelez’s organic net revenue grew only 1.5% — although as a result of cost cutting, its adjusted operating income margin expanded by 210 basis points, to 15.2%.

Since Mondelez’s bid for Hershey fizzled at the end of August, there has been speculation that it might be acquired by Kraft Heinz — which would be ironic, given that Mondelez International was spun off from Kraft in 2012 — or by another giant such as PepsiCo.

Alternately, analysts have speculated that Mondelez may try to acquire another confectioner that would help it expand its U.S. footprint quickly, such as Perfetti Van Melle or Ferrero.