Hilton Food Group has agreed to take full control of vegan and vegetarian product firm Dalco Food, the Netherlands-based business of which the UK supplier bought 50% in 2019.
London-listed Hilton, a meat, fish and plant-based protein producer predominately serving the retail private-label channel, did not disclose the price it is paying for the remaining 50% interest in Dalco. The purchase is subject to competition approval in the Netherlands, it said in a statement this morning (7 September).
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Hilton said the deal marks part of its strategy to “further diversify and strengthen its protein offering” through the plant-based category. It plans to “commit ongoing investment in order to significantly increase its [Dalco’s] capacity to customers”.
Hilton CEO Philip Heffer said: “This is the next natural step in our ambitions to broaden and diversify Hilton’s multi-protein offer. The completion of this transaction will further strengthen Hilton’s position within the vegan and vegetarian market, at a time when our customers are increasingly seeking out innovative, high-quality vegetarian products at scale.”
The Dalco management team will “continue to play a pivotal role in our ambitious growth plans”, he added.
Dalco, located in the Dutch city of Oss, has two manufacturing plants in the Netherlands supplying retail, foodservice and B2B customers with snacks, finger foods and meal ingredients.
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By GlobalDataHilton, which owns the Seachill frozen food business, has operations in Europe and Australia, and recently expanded into Belgium and New Zealand for the production of red meats and fish, respectively.
Dalco CEO Marian Wagemakers, whose family founded the business in 1975, said: “Hilton has been a supportive joint-venture partner of Dalco, and we are pleased to now become a full part of the Hilton Food Group. This transaction will enable continued investment in the business and it will underpin the next stage of Dalco’s growth.”
