Mondelēz International has taken a majority investment in Undercover Snacks, the East Hanover, N.J.-based maker of chocolate-covered and frosted quinoa crisps, adding the better-for-you brand to its growing stable of high-growth snack acquisitions. Financial terms were not disclosed. Diana Levy, who co-founded the company in 2016 after two of her daughters were diagnosed with celiac disease, will remain CEO; Michael Levy continues as President and COO. Both retain a significant minority stake.
Distribution Footprint
Undercover's channel reach is already substantial for a brand less than a decade old. Products are on shelf at Whole Foods Market, Target, Walmart, Kroger, Sprouts, Albertsons, CVS and Walgreens — more than 25,000 retail locations in total — and available through Amazon and the brand's own site. The company's longest-running growth driver may be its United Airlines partnership: the carrier has distributed more than 175 million Undercover units since 2023 as a complimentary main-cabin snack, generating trial at a scale most emerging brands cannot replicate through conventional trade spending.
The Mondelēz Ventures Playbook
Undercover slots into Mondelēz's North America Ventures unit alongside Perfect Snacks, Tate's Bake Shop and Hu Chocolate — a portfolio of better-for-you and premium-positioned brands the company has assembled to capture consumers trading up from conventional center-store snacks. Mondelēz reported approximately $38.5 billion in net revenues for 2025. The Ventures model keeps acquired brands operationally independent while plugging them into Mondelēz's procurement, sales infrastructure and consumer-insights capabilities — a structure that has become a template for large CPG players looking to move faster in fast-growing better-for-you segments without disrupting the entrepreneurial culture that built the brand.
For convenience-channel buyers and category managers, the deal signals continued momentum behind permissible-indulgence snacks in impulse-purchase sets. Gluten-free, non-GMO and allergen-friendly positioning has migrated from natural-channel outlier to mainstream planogram fixture over the past several years, and a Mondelēz distribution push could accelerate Undercover's penetration in c-store single-serve and grab-and-go formats — a slot where the brand's airline trial has already built consumer awareness.
What Operators Should Watch
Undercover's production facility in East Hanover is peanut-free, tree-nut-free, solar-powered and certified gluten-free — attributes that are increasingly table stakes for better-for-you snack programs targeting health-conscious commuter and travel demographics. Michael Levy noted that the company built a proprietary quinoa-crisping operation and state-of-the-art production facility ahead of the deal, giving Mondelēz a turnkey manufacturing asset rather than a co-manufactured brand dependent on third-party capacity.
Centerview Partners advised Undercover on the transaction; Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
