Australia-based beef jerky producer Mariani Foods has boosted its presence in Europe through the acquisition of UK firm Bare Earth.
The acquisition includes all the assets of Bare Earth and “10 of the 12” staff, a spokesperson for Mariani told just-food. It will see the formation of New World Foods Europe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mariani Foods Australia that will be managed independently to “better serve the UK and European markets.”
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The spokesperson added the acquisition “brings us in line with locally-sourced meat producers and will open doors with retailers who prefer British sourced/made produce”.
The acquisition, which rescued Bare Earth from administration, includes a Yorkshire factory that will allow New World Foods the possibility of manufacturing UK-produced beef jerky and biltong.
Bare Earth began in Ripon in 2003 manufacturing a variety of meat snacks, including beef jerky, before moving to its current premises in York last year.
Over the past decade the brand has grown into a GBP1.1m (US$1.8m) business, but ran into trouble this year when it lost two of its major retailers, resulting in a 50% drop in sales, after also investing in new premises.
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By GlobalDataGareth Rusling and Chris White of The P&A Partnership were appointed joint administrators of the firm on 18 February.
Rusling said: “This deal will enable the brand to grow again and, most importantly, everyone in the business has been able to keep their job.”
Don Nisbet, group managing director of Mariani Foods, said: “This is an exciting time for New World Foods, we have successfully acquired the assets from Bare Earth that will allow us to offer British-made biltong and jerky, something that means a lot to the consumers we’ve spoken to over the years.”
