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Food & Beverage news The latest from the industry
NeWS
New developments in the Food & Beverage industry
Italy’s Lavazza Group to acquire Mars Drinks electrolux strengthens
Italian coffee producer, Lavazza Group, has entered into an agreement to buy Mars Inc.’s coffee unit, Mars Drinks.
The acquisition covers Mars Drinks’ coffee business in North America, Canada, Japan, and Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Lavazza will purchase Flavia and Klinz, two leading office coffee makers under Mars Drinks. Lavazza Group is the third largest coffee producer in the world, holding about 2.5% of the global market according to Euromonitor International. This deal follows its previous acquisitions of Carte Noir and ESP in France, Merrild in Denmark, Blue Pod Coffee in Australia, NIMS in Italy and Kicking Horse Coffee in Canada.
“This acquisition fits perfectly within our international expansion strategy, the objective of strengthening key markets, as well as the pursuit of having an even closer relationship with end consumers,” remarked Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza Group.
As part of its long-term strategy, Lavazza has revealed it will be moving Mars Drinks towards the away-from-home coffee market. Visit: www.lavazza.com
Jacobs Douwe Egberts expands to Nordic beverage market
Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) has recently announced it will acquire Sweden-based coffee business JOBmeal from Valedo Partners Fund II for an undisclosed sum.
JOBmeal offers a vast range of office coffee solutions to customers in both Sweden and Finland. This acquisition will enable new growth opportunities for JDE in the Nordic region.
The agreement will provide JOBmeal’s customers with access to JDE’s coffee and tea brands, such as Gevalia, Piazza D’Oro, L’Or and Pickwick.
George Schoof, general manager JDE Professional Nordics, commented: “The addition of JOBmeal to our Nordic family will enable us to expand our reach in Sweden and Finland. Together we will be better able to serve the evolving needs of customers at all levels, through a truly Nordic footprint.”
Fredrik Mossberg CEO, JOBmeal added: “At JOBmeal, our goal and our passion is to significantly enhance the office coffee experience. Becoming part of JDE gives us great opportunities to accelerate ourdevelopment towards that goal.” Visit: www.jacobsdouweegberts.com
beverage portfolio
Electrolux has acquired SPM Drink Systems, an Italian manufacturer of professional dispensers of frozen and hot beverages and soft ice-cream, as part of its plan to expands across the hospitality industry.
The extensive product portfolio offered by SPM Drink Systems will enable Electrolux Professional to become a full service solution provider by increasing its current beverage offering to include a comprehensive range of products. Together with the acquisition of Grindmaster-Cecilware in North America in 2017, this further strengthens Electrolux’s presence in the fast-growing beverage segment.
“We are excited and pleased to enlarge and complement our product portfolio in beverage with such an attractive, modern and well regarded company with a strong position in Europe. This acquisition is strategic and a perfect match to bring added value to our product offering,” commented Alberto Zanata, head of Electrolux Professional Products.
With five decades of heritage and skilled expertise, SPM Drink Systems had combined net sales of approximately €30 million in 2017, and 110 employees. The company’s headquarters and main manufacturing facilities are based in Spilamberto, Italy. Visit: www.electrolux.com
unilever has introduced a new probiotic ice cream brand, Culture Republick, which it says is the first premium ice cream to contain probiotics. Culture Republick’s product range will initially include seven flavours: milk & Honey, Turmeric Chai & Cinnamon, Cold Brew & Chocolate Chip, Pistachio & Caramel, lemon & Graham, Chocolate & Cherry, and matcha & Fudge. each pint tub contains three billion live active cultures, between 400 and 500 calories, 16-18 grams of protein, 11–12 grammes of fibre and no artificial sweeteners.
According to unilever, 10% of the brand’s profits will be used to support the arts in local communities. It will collaborate with emerging artists to design each pint tub.
leslie miller, marketing director of ice cream at unilever, said: “Culture Republick was created with a distinct purpose in mind.
“We believe that humanity could use a bit more brightness. By combining our passions for culture and ice cream, we intend to do our part in making people feel more balanced, inspired and connected.” Visit: www.unilever.com
INDUSTRYNEWS
Leading Japanese snack food maker, Calbee, has recently acquired British crisp brand, Seabrook Crisps, as it looks to further expand across Europe.
Calbee was drawn to Seabrook’s ‘iconic’ brand of potato chips in Britain, which includes variants such as: straight cut, crinkle cut and lattice. The brand’s crisp flavours include: sea salt and red wine vinegar, cream cheese and chives, and lamb and mint.
Calbee UK managing director Richard Robinson commented: “This is an exciting development which will allow us to combine and further leverage the skills and brands of two ambitious players in the UK savoury snack market – building an even more dynamic, innovative and effective snack business going forward. We firmly believe it will prove to be good news for both business and the UK snack industry as a whole.”
He also added: “This acquisition is good news for Calbee UK’s business aspirations and has been designed not for cost savings but to generate growth. Whilst wholly owned by Calbee UK, Seabrook will run separately as a business, sharing their expertise with Calbee and ours with them.” Visit: www.calbee.co.uk
Siro and Cerealto to merge to create Cerealto Siro Foods
Siro and the multinational Cerealto have agreed to merge into a new multinational food group, Cerealto Siro Foods, dedicated to the manufacturing of third-party labels. The new group will close the 2018 financial year with estimated consolidated figures of €600 million in turnover and a production volume of 400,000 tonnes.
The new group has a team of more than 5000 people distributed among its 17 production centres in Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom and Mexico, and also has a local team in the United States.
The aim of the new group is to position itself in the global food market with an offer of products that respond to the needs of consumers and a business model based on ‘quality, operational efficiency and innovation’.
To this end, Cerealto Siro Foods plans to allocate its operational and financial resources to the global categories of Biscuits, Cereals and Pasta, which it believes have global growth potential. Visit: www.cerealto.com
nespresso to use responsibly sourced aluminium in coffee capsules
Nespresso will become the first company to use responsibly-sourced aluminium, supplied by Rio Tinto, to produce its coffee capsules.
The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together with Nespresso’s capsule manufacturers to fulfill a commitment of sourcing 100% sustainable aluminium by 2020.
The use of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Certified Aluminium is an important milestone towards reducing the impact that the world’s second most used base metal has on the planet.
The ASI sets out standards to promote the protection of biodiversity, respect for indigenous peoples’ rights, water management and low-carbon emissions during the production of aluminium.
The ASI’s Chain of Custody Standard creates a traceability mechanism, so that end-users like Nespresso can be sure that the aluminium they buy has been manufactured by ASI-Certified producers at each stage of the process. The standard is the first of its kind for any industrial metal. Visit: www.nespresso.com
Orkla integrates companies in strategic growth plan
orkla has announced it will integrate two of its companies, Hamé and Vitana, to create one strong food company to strengthen its position in both Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The companies have previously been run as separate entities. Vitana joined the orkla family back in 2013 as a part of the Rieber & Søn acqusition and Hamé was aquired by orkla in 2016.
“Vitana and Hamé are two successful companies, but together they will form an even more competitive organisation. By integrating them we can build a stronger organisation than each company can do alone,” explained Johan Wilhelmsson, executive vice-president, Ceo orkla Foods International.
The new organisation will be led by Pawel Szcześniak, the current Ceo of Vitana. orkla Foods Česko a Slovensko will be one of the largest food companies in both the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. It will also have operations in Hungary, ukraine and Russia and will export to other markets. Visit: www.orkla.com
