Mondelēz International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) announced on May 13, 2026 the expansion of the Zbar kids’ snacking portfolio with two new launches: Zbar Oat Bites in Chocolate Chip and Iced Oatmeal Cookie flavors, and Zbar Protein Snack Bars in Strawberries ‘n Creme flavor. Both are available now at retailers nationwide at $6.49 per pack: Zbar Oat Bites in a 6-pack and Zbar Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme in a 5-pack. Valerie Van Arkel, Director of Marketing for Zbar at Mondelēz International, is the spokesperson. The Zbar brand is part of the CLIF brand portfolio, which became part of Mondelēz International in 2022. Mondelēz generated approximately $36.4 billion in net revenue in 2024 and operates in over 150 countries. Its global snack portfolio includes OREO, RITZ, belVita, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, Toblerone, and CLIF brands.
The Two Products: Ingredient Architecture Across Two Distinct Applications
Zbar Oat Bites (Chocolate Chip and Iced Oatmeal Cookie) are a new bite-sized format extension of the existing Zbar bar lineup. Each pack delivers 14 grams of whole grains and is USDA Certified Organic. The Chocolate Chip flavor requires organic chocolate chip inclusions incorporated into a whole grain oat bite base. The Iced Oatmeal Cookie flavor requires a cinnamon and vanilla flavoring system with an icing or glaze coating applied to the bite surface to replicate the characteristic iced oatmeal cookie flavor profile.
The “bite-sized” format is the primary format innovation here. Standard Zbar products are in bar form. Oat Bites are individually sized pieces in a multi-bite pack, designed for portioned snacking from a bag or pouch rather than as a single bar. The format is conceptually adjacent to the Goodies Banana Bread Mini Oat Bites we reviewed yesterday (May 12), which also targets the poppable, bite-sized organic oat kids’ snack segment. Both launching within 24 hours of each other, from different parent companies (Mondelēz via CLIF and Hero Group via Goodies), is the kind of simultaneous category convergence that signals the bite-sized organic oat kids’ snack format has officially crossed a commercial threshold.
The USDA Certified Organic designation requires all oat, chocolate, and flavoring inputs to be sourced from certified organic suppliers. For organic oat flour and rolled oat suppliers serving the children’s snack bar co-manufacturing segment, the Zbar Oat Bites launch at Mondelēz’s national retail distribution scale creates a new sustained demand program for organic whole grain oats at the bite-sized snack production specification.
Zbar Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme is a new flavor extension of the existing Zbar Protein crispy snack bar line. It delivers 5 grams of protein per bar and is made with organic oats and real fruit. The Strawberries ‘n Creme flavor requires a strawberry fruit inclusion or natural strawberry flavor compound alongside a cream-flavored coating or filling system. The “real fruit” claim for the strawberry component requires a strawberry-derived ingredient (dried strawberry, strawberry puree, or strawberry fruit juice concentrate) rather than a strawberry-flavored artificial compound.
The Zbar Protein line’s crispy bar format requires a different production specification from the standard chewy Zbar bar. A crispy bar typically uses a puffed or crisped rice or grain base rather than the rolled oat and soft binder system of a chewy bar, producing the characteristic airy, light crunch of a crispy protein bar. The 5g protein in a crispy bar format for a children’s snack requires a protein ingredient at the concentration and functional behavior compatible with the crispy bar matrix without producing a chalky or dense texture.
The Mondelēz / CLIF Scale Context
The CLIF brand was independently owned for 30 years before Mondelēz acquired it in 2022. The acquisition gave CLIF access to Mondelēz’s global retail distribution infrastructure across 150-plus countries, a snack manufacturing network, and a procurement scale that an independent CLIF could not match. The Zbar Oat Bites and Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme launches are products developed within that Mondelēz distribution framework: both are available at retailers nationwide at launch, which would have been a more gradual rollout process for an independent CLIF.
The Mondelēz CLIF portfolio context is also significant for organic grain procurement. CLIF’s brand identity is built on organic oats as the primary grain input across all CLIF Bar, Zbar, and LUNA products. Mondelēz’s acquisition created one of the largest single organic oat procurement programs within a global confectionery and snack conglomerate. For organic oat suppliers, the Zbar Oat Bites launch extends that organic oat procurement demand into a new format category (bite-sized pieces) on top of the existing bar formats.
The Better-for-You Kids’ Snack Week: Three Brands, Same Category
Three better-for-you kids’ snack launches have now landed in the same week: Goodies by Hero Group (May 12, six products at Walmart and Kroger), Zbar Oat Bites and Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme (May 13, Mondelēz/CLIF at national retail), and the Quaker FIFA World Cup protein expansion (May 12, PepsiCo, four products). All three are responding to the same parent consumer demand: organic or clean-label ingredients, whole grain credentials, protein claims where applicable, and convenience formats for active kids.
The convergence of these three announcements in a 48-hour window is the clearest single-week signal in 2026 that the better-for-you kids’ snack category is at a commercial inflection point. When Mondelēz, Hero Group, and PepsiCo all launch kids’ snack products with whole grain and clean-label claims in the same news cycle, the ingredient sourcing signals embedded in all three announcements point in the same direction: organic oat, organic whole grain, pea protein, real fruit inclusions, and clean-label preservation systems are now the standard specification, not the premium one, for the kids’ snack segment.
Why It Matters for Organic Oat, Organic Chocolate, Strawberry Fruit, and Crispy Bar Ingredient Suppliers
Zbar Oat Bites’ USDA Certified Organic and 14g whole grain per pack specification at Mondelēz’s national retail distribution scale creates a sustained procurement requirement for USDA Certified Organic whole grain oats at the particle size and moisture specification required for a bite-sized chewy or soft snack format, alongside organic chocolate chip inclusions for the Chocolate Chip flavor and natural vanilla and cinnamon flavor compounds with an icing or glaze system for the Iced Oatmeal Cookie flavor, all at the organic certification standard required for a USDA Certified Organic label claim at Mondelēz’s production volume. For organic oat suppliers, the Zbar Oat Bites launch extends the CLIF brand’s existing organic oat procurement program into a new bite-sized format category, creating an additive demand channel for organic whole grain oat inputs above the baseline bar format procurement volume.
The Zbar Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme bar’s real fruit claim for the strawberry component creates a demand for strawberry fruit inclusion or natural strawberry fruit compound at the concentration and color stability required for a crispy protein snack bar application made with organic oats, requiring strawberry-derived inputs that support both the real fruit label claim and the organic certification standard of the CLIF brand’s production program. For organic strawberry fruit suppliers and real strawberry ingredient manufacturers serving the children’s protein snack bar segment, the Zbar Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme creates a new organic-compatible real fruit application within Mondelēz’s CLIF brand production program at national retail distribution scale.
The crispy bar format of Zbar Protein requires a puffed or crisped grain base at the texture and density specification that delivers the characteristic light, airy crunch of a protein crispy bar while accommodating 5g of protein per bar without creating the chalky or dense texture that high protein concentrations can produce in a crispy bar matrix, requiring protein ingredient sourcing at the functional behavior and particle size specification compatible with the crispy bar production process. For protein ingredient suppliers and crispy grain base manufacturers serving the children’s better-for-you snack bar segment, the Zbar Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme adds a new organic-compatible flavor variant to the existing Zbar Protein crispy bar program at Mondelēz’s production scale.
FAQs
What are the two new Zbar products? Zbar Oat Bites in Chocolate Chip and Iced Oatmeal Cookie flavors (14g whole grains per pack, USDA Certified Organic, 6-pack at $6.49) and Zbar Protein Snack Bars in Strawberries ‘n Creme flavor (5g protein, made with organic oats and real fruit, 5-pack at $6.49).
Where are they available? At retailers nationwide. More information at clifbar.com/clif-kid.
Who makes Zbar? The Zbar brand is part of the CLIF brand portfolio, which joined Mondelēz International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) in 2022. Mondelēz generated approximately $36.4 billion in net revenue in 2024 and operates in over 150 countries. The CLIF brand has been crafting snacks with organic ingredients for over 30 years.
What other CLIF brands does Mondelēz operate? CLIF BAR, Zbar, and LUNA, alongside global brands including OREO, RITZ, belVita, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, Toblerone, and Tate’s Bake Shop.
About Source86
The Zbar Oat Bites and Protein Strawberries ‘n Creme launch reflects active demand for USDA Certified Organic whole grain oats at the particle size and moisture specification for a bite-sized chewy kids’ snack format, organic chocolate chip inclusions for a children’s snack bite application at the CLIF brand’s organic certification standard, natural vanilla and cinnamon flavor compounds and icing or glaze system inputs for an Iced Oatmeal Cookie bite-sized snack at organic specification, strawberry-derived real fruit ingredient or natural strawberry fruit compound for a crispy protein bar application made with organic oats, protein ingredient inputs at the functional behavior and particle size specification for a crispy grain bar matrix at 5g protein per bar without chalky texture, and the USDA Certified Organic co-manufacturing infrastructure supporting Mondelēz’s CLIF brand production program at national retail distribution scale. At Source86, we connect organic kids’ snack manufacturers, better-for-you snack bar brands, and CPG ingredient buyers with trusted bulk and wholesale sourcing partners for organic whole grain oats, organic chocolate inclusions, real strawberry and fruit ingredients, protein inputs for crispy bar applications, and the ingredient sourcing infrastructure that supports USDA Certified Organic snack bar and bite production at Mondelēz’s national retail distribution scale.
Whether your production team sources organic whole grain oats for a bite-sized kids’ snack application, real strawberry fruit for an organic protein bar, or natural flavor compounds for a certified organic children’s snack format, Source86 is your bridge to the right manufacturing and supply chain partners. Contact Source86 today to start your sourcing search.
