Through the expertise in Belvita Chinese naming, Labbrand played a pivotal role in enabling belVita to effectively convey its brand message to Chinese consumers with precision and creativity. As a key player in the snack food and drinks industry, Mondelēz International has significantly influenced the market by introducing a novel category of breakfast food to Chinese consumers – the breakfast biscuit.

Mondelēz International operates in 165 countries and has had success in China by adapting their powerhouse brands such as Oreo and Stride to fit into the Chinese market. Now, Mondelēz has tackled a distinctive category of snack and hopes to capitalize upon a growing health trend in the food and beverage industry, occurring nationwide.

Labbrand worked with Mondelēz to develop the Chinese brand name for its breakfast biscuit brand belVita. While belVita has been successful in foreign markets for over decades, the unique attribute to the Chinese market had caused the success of sweet products such as foreign cookies and biscuits to operate with varying levels of success over the years. But while the entry barriers are high, the spoils are even bigger, with the retail market value of biscuits reaching ¥65 billion by 2015. As such, Mondelēz has invested significant time and effort into bringing belVita to China.   

“When I first got acquainted with this project and the brand belVita in 2014, what impressed me most was the company’s great dedication,” said Melissa Zhang, Senior Consultant at Labbrand. “Mondelēz food scientists spent 10 years working to get a perfect bundle of taste, convenience, nutrition, and 4 hours of sustained energy. The brand launch is well integrated with the megatrend of ‘fitness/health’ in China.”

With the understanding of the product’s positioning, Labbrand created the Chinese name 焙朗 [bèi lǎng] for Mondelēz. 焙 [bèi] implies a slow baking technique. It is also related to sustained energy benefit, which matches belVita’s core concept: Using the special baking process that produces a slow release of energy. The syllable is phonetically identical.  朗 [lǎng] delivers the majority of the brand essence, as begets associations of sunny mornings and clear skies, while subconsciously aligning perceptions with the desire to lead a bright and beautiful life. With a cheerful and energetic tone, the new brand name conveys belVita’s message to “start steady, stay ready” with accuracy and creativity.

Belvita Chinese naming – About Mondelēz

Mondelēz International is an American multinational food and snack conglomerate comprised of several master brands such as Kraft and Nabisco. With leading market shares in every category they compete in, Mondelēz holds the #1 position globally in Biscuits, Chocolate and Candy. Mondelēz brought in $30 bullion USD of revenue (¥190 billion RMB at the time of this writing) in 2014 with the help of over 100,000 employees, manufacturing and marketing its products in 165 countries around the world. 40% of its sales come from higher-growth emerging markets

About Labbrand

Labbrand is a leading China-originated global brand consultancy, working collaboratively with consumers & corporations to build and strengthen brands through culturally relevant actions. To achieve success and brand innovations, Labbrand seamlessly coordinates research, strategic decisions, and creative implementation.