Passers-by reacted with surprise that the manufacturer of favorites such as Oreo, Ritz and Trident may be getting a new name.
On Wednesday, Kraft Foods proposed to change the name of its global snacks business to Mondelez International Inc., pronounced moan-duh-leez, when the company splits later this year. (More on the name in Business.)
We surveyed passers-by to find out what kind of products people associate with the word “Mondelez.” None connected it to food.
*”It just sounds kind of weird,” said Danielle Stone, 30, of Chicago. “Is it a clothing store?”
*”Mona Lisa comes to mind,” said Rolf Mainz, 68, of Chicago, echoing about five other participants.
*”It sounds artistic and worldly,” said Anne Pinsker, 60, of the San Francisco Bay Area. “It’s a nice name.”
*”It’s very cryptic,” said Jianette Ruby, 49, of Arlington Heights. “Very little comes to mind.”
*”Maybe an art gallery?” said Brent Brady, 26, of Chicago.
*”To me, it sounds French,” said Kassandra Benson, 29, of Chicago. “Its product could be anywhere from manufacturing to technology to clothing. It could literally be anything to me.”
*”The weird names that I don’t understand tend to be pharmaceutical companies or a drug,” said Gregory Jensen, 35, of Hoffman Estates. “I would probably go toward a pharmaceutical company.”
After survey participants were told that Mondelez was proposed to be a new name for Kraft Foods’ international snacks company, most of them were surprised.
“The other inclination I had was that it would be some kind of feminine product,” said Robin Rosenstein, 49, of Chicago. “Snack food? I would have never considered it.”
