Crossing Borders with Halls: Brenda Arroyo's Global Perspective on Brand Innovation

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Can you describe your career journey at Mondelēz?

I kicked off my career with Mondelēz about 8 years ago as an intern in the Global Candy team in Mexico, supporting the improvement of the sanding process for Sour Patch Kids gaining initial insights into the confectionery manufacturing world. That's where I realized making candy is way more technical than I thought, and I totally fell in love with it! In 2019, I joined the team full-time as a Product Developer for Halls and I had the opportunity to collaborate with regional teams to launch various innovations under the Halls brand, gaining experience with diverse candy technologies, from mints to chewy candy to hard candies. I played a role in the launch of key products such as Halls Boost in Mexico; Halls Red Bull in Thailand; Halls Chews in MEU (Middle East & Africa) and Mexico. After a ton of learning, I moved to the US in 2023 to be a Product Developer for Halls here in the US and Canada, focused on innovation for the brand and the introduction of new flavors tailored to North American markets, learning the ways of working and the dynamics of a regional role. Then, in 2025, I got promoted to Brand Steward, taking on this awesome role for the renovation and maintenance of the Halls brand, responsible for maintaining brand integrity, driving innovation, and overseeing product enhancements for the US and Canada.

What does being a "brand steward" entail, and what are your primary responsibilities in this role?

A Brand Steward is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the value and equity of the brand and product. This role involves overseeing all aspects of the brand, ensuring consistency in its messaging, look, and feel, and driving its growth and profitability. We act as the brand's champion within the organization and in the market. My main responsibilities as Halls Brand Steward are to develop and implement the overall brand strategy to align with business goals; define and maintain the brand's vision, mission, and values; and ensuring that all marketing and communication efforts are consistent with the brand strategy. We work closely with cross-functional teams, including quality, marketing, regulatory, consumer science and finance to identify opportunities for product improvements and innovations ensuring that the new products align with the brand's values and meet consumer needs and expectations.

In your role as a brand steward, how do you ensure that the Halls brand continues to innovate and meet the evolving needs of consumers?

To ensure Halls remains relevant and competitive with North American consumers, we continuously monitor consumers' needs and behaviors, as well as broader market trends and the competitive landscape. We make sure that we foster innovation, maintaining brand alignment, and leveraging strategic partnerships with suppliers to have the right ingredients to produce our Halls cough drops that meet consumers expectations. The key to our brand's ongoing success is to have open and effective communication with the cross - functional team and stakeholders.

How did your experience working with Halls in Mexico contribute to your success in the North America region? Were there specific insights or approaches that you were able to leverage?

My initial role within the global team in Mexico provided me with a crucial understanding of the candy-making process and gave me the technical foundation in candy science necessary to drive innovation. This experience empowered me to think creatively beyond established regional processes and bring a fresh perspective to the North American market. Moreover, the connections I made with colleagues in other countries exposed me to diverse technologies and capabilities, benefiting both myself and my team in exploring new formats for Halls. I think it's ideal to begin your product development journey in a role that gives you the freedom and resources to really tap into your creativity. It's awesome to then bring that knowledge and those ideas into a role that's more fast-paced and dynamic. I feel super lucky that I've gotten to experience both sides of things, and this has definitely contributed to my career success!

What aspects of the Mondelēz culture have supported your growth and development throughout your career?

Mondelēz's culture of encouraging a growth mindset in everything we do has been instrumental in my development, this has empowering me to embrace challenges and learn from every experience that I have had during my career. This, coupled with supportive management and a collaborative team environment that fosters open communication, has allowed me to effectively navigate challenges and learn from setbacks. Also, the inclusive environment at Mondelēz, where all employees feel valued and supported, has been another factor that significantly contributed to my growth, it has allowed me to work with diverse teams and has broadened my perspectives providing invaluable learning experiences and enriching my personal and professional growth. Finally, I appreciate that the company prioritizes employee development by providing various learning opportunities to expand knowledge and skills, demonstrating the company's commitment to employee growth.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to a similar career path at Mondelēz, particularly someone interested in brand stewardship or working with a global brand like Halls?

If you're thinking about this career path, my biggest tip is to really dive into the technical information of the product that excites you! Enjoy the process of learning and playing around with it. Learn the basics really well and have fun experimenting and opening your mind to new ideas. Unleash your creativity and approach everything with a "what if?" attitude. Don't focus on why things can't be done, but how they can. Don't be discouraged by "no." Focus your energy on finding solutions and making things happen. Soak up all the knowledge you can, use every resource you can find to understand the brand, ask tons of questions, be curious, and most importantly, enjoy the ride!