Mondelez extends startup incubator programme to cover shopper marketing

After launching its Mobile Futures programme in 2012 to harness startup innovation for mobile ventures, Mondelez is making another major move in the shopper marketing arena. (Read also: Can Mondelez think like a startup again?)Its Shopper Futures programme will bring together entrepreneurs and retailers to work on the retail experience.This will team Mondelez International's brands with entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Canada who are developing the technology and mobile solutions to solve pressing retail challenges. This has newly launched in New York today and will roll out in Canada tomorrow. The company has yet to confirm the plans for Asia."Technology has had an undeniable impact on the consumer path to purchase," said Laura Henderson, head of US Media & Communications at Mondelez International."Through Shopper Futures, we're collaborating with the brightest minds in the industry and startup world to shape the future of retail, both in-store and online. This time around, we're focused on solving real shopper challenges in our snacking categories and unlocking new opportunities for growth."The company will hold a pitch day with top startups in East Hanover, N.J, and nine final startups will receive funding to work one-on-one with a team of marketers from US and Canadian brands such as Oreo, Halls, Ritz and Cadbury, and a retailer. The teams will then collaborate to design a 90 day pilot execution."This next phase of our Futures-focused programming promises to be extremely interesting, not just for the participating brands, startups and retailers, but for the e-commerce and retail industries in general. We're looking forward to seeing the great innovations that will come to market," said Kristi Karens, director of Media and Consumer Engagement at Mondelez International,Canada.The conditions for startups now are that they must be based in either the U.S. or Canada, be less than four years old and have technology that is at a stage where it could be live in market. Startups are encouraged to apply online from June 3 to June 27, 2015.