May 4/Northfield, Ill./PRNewswire -- On March 6, Oreo turned 100, and for its first seven decades, it was primarily a North American brand, with limited expansion into Developing Markets. While the brand grew double digits in developed regions like North America and Europe in 2011, Developing Markets is now the brand's leading growth engine. Today, OREO is sold in about 85 Developing Markets from China and India to Argentina and Mexico. Over the past five years, OREO has grown nearly 37% on average annually in Developing Markets, including gains of 50% in 2011. The brand is on track to reach $1 billion in annual revenues in Developing Markets this year.
"OREO is one of 10 power brands in Developing Markets where we put disproportionate focus and resource," said Sanjay Khosla, president, Developing Markets. "After its first 95 years, OREO had less than $200 million in annual revenues in Developing Markets. And by the end of 2012, we plan to make OREO a billion-dollar Developing Markets success -- nearly five times the net revenues of just five years ago."