Irish food group Glanbia today (9 May) confirmed it is working with Bright Food to look into potential ventures in the Chinese firm’s home market but brushed off reports of a deal.
The Irish Times said Glanbia would sell domestic milk brand Avonmore in China through an agreement with state-backed local food giant Bright Food. The two sides had signed a three-stage deal, the newspaper said, with plans to jointly develop products and technology and then possible co-investment.
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Speaking to just-food this afternoon, a spokesperson said Glanbia and Bright Food had signed a memorandum of understanding to look into possible partnerships.
“This is a pre-commercial agreement which lays out the basis for Glanbia and Bright Foods to explore the scope for any joint market opportunities and distribution channels across Glanbia’s global portfolio of products,” the spokesperson said. “The MOU relates to the breadth of the Glanbia global product portfolio – comprising a broad range of ingredient and consumer products – and, while a number of options will be explored, there are no plans for Avonmore milk at this time.”
The spokesperson added there were “no specific plans” for co-investment or to jointly develop products and technology but added: “Tech transfers potentially fall within the realms of the MOU.”
Glanbia does have a presence in China. It has a trading base in Shanghai and an ingredients production plant 100km further west in Suzhou.
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