Mondelēz International is bringing Chips Ahoy! into other categories such as cakes and pastries as the snacking giant looks to turn the 62-year-old brand into a platform built on its iconic chocolate chip.
“We’re going bigger and bolder behind some of our innovations and activations that we have in the past,” Sabrina Sierant, senior director of Chips Ahoy!, said in an interview. “Chips Ahoy! should be the go-to chocolate chip treat.”
Chips Ahoy!, which traces its roots to 1963, is the second-largest cookie brand in the U.S. behind Oreo, which also is owned by Mondelēz.
Despite being known by 95% of consumers, according to Mondelēz, Chips Ahoy! is only found in 30% of U.S. households. This provides the snacks company with opportunities to grow the brand through innovation to its popular cookie line and extensions into additional food categories that appeal to more consumers.
In January, Mondelēz launched Baked Bites, square, chewy treats that marked the first major foray for the Chips Ahoy! brand into the $97 billion cakes and pastries space identified by the company as a source for growth. Before that, Chips Ahoy! had a smaller presence in the in-store bakery with muffins.
For years, Mondelēz supported Chips Ahoy! with promotions and displays. In 2019, and during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company took a deeper look at the brand that was flying off the shelf and realized it could do more to reach consumers.
In recent years, Mondelēz has experienced growth from minis, and launched innovation such as a three times bigger-sized cookie, a gluten-free option and several new flavors, including chocolate caramel, red velvet and s’mores. Last year, it tweaked the recipe for the classic cookie to include chocolate chips with higher cacao and Madagascar vanilla extract content, marking the biggest update for the $1 billion brand in nearly a decade.
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Courtesy of Mondelēz International
The spate of innovations is showing signs of paying off. During the last 26 weeks ending March 29, 2025, Chips Ahoy! sales rose 2.3%, outpacing the broader biscuit category which declined 0.3%, Mondelēz said. Chips Ahoy! also added roughly 2 million homes during the same time, with a quarter of the growth associated to new innovations.
“We’ve entered a new chapter with all of this innovation,” Sierant said. “The brand still has a lot of runway for growth.”
To tap into that opportunity, Mondelēz is taking Chips Ahoy! deeper into on-the-go- snacking, a gap that Baked Bites helps to fill. It’s also launching more products under $3 — previously much of its portfolio was over $4 — to appeal to cash-strapped consumers and bring Chips Ahoy! closer to how much shoppers typically spend when they buy a snack. Finally, Mondelēz is stepping up its launch of more better-for-you products like its gluten-free Chips Ahoy!
Sierant said Mondelēz has discussed other extensions for Chips Ahoy! beyond cookies, though she wouldn’t divulge what those could be. The Chicago company first wants to focus on launching new pack sizes, growing Baked Bites and innovating in cookies, which are responsible for the lion’s share of the brand’s revenue.
“We want to be careful about exerting into too many platforms too fast,” she said. “We plan on continuing to extend beyond cookies but I think it’ll be in phases.”
