FILE - This Feb. 9, 2011, file photo, shows Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in Chandler, Ariz. When Kraft revealed that it planned to name its new global snack business “Mondelez,” it caused a minor stir. Kraft was careful to explain that the made-up word is an a
FILE - This Feb. 9, 2011, file photo, shows Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in Chandler, Ariz. When Kraft revealed that it planned to name its new global snack business “Mondelez,” it caused a minor stir. Kraft was careful to explain that the made-up word is an amalgamation of the Latin word for “world” and “a fanciful expression” of the word “delicious.” The linguistic concoction was the result of a four-month long process that reflects the extensive consumer research and vetting names are subject to in the corporate world. It also brings to light the powerful role language can play in shaping appetites and even dictating a brand’s fate. The right name might even persuade consumers to detect phantom homespun qualities in packaged snacks that rolled off a factory conveyor belt. Matt York, File, Associated Press
By Associated Press

NEW YORK — "MONDEWHAAAAT?"

The sarcasm was palpable in the one-word headline that appeared in The New York Post on the day after Kraft Foods revealed that it planned to name its new global snack business "Mondelez," an interpretation of a mash-up of the Latin words for "world" and "delicious." But that wasn't the only dig.

One blogger teased that she would've been "stifling giggles" if she'd been in meetings to determine the name. Crain's Business Chicago tittered that it bears close resemblance to a Russian term for a sexual act.

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The made-up moniker, pronounced "mon-dah-LEEZ," became a punch line after it was unveiled in March. On Wednesday, Kraft shareholders will decide whether to approve the name for the company's business that sells global snack brands such as Oreos, Fig Newton and Cadbury.

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