Dutch food group Van Geloven, majority-owned by McCain Foods, has snapped up a clutch of brands and plants from local peer Royaan.
The deal, announced yesterday (6 October) for an undisclosed sum, sees Van Geloven buy brands including Van Dobben and Kwekkeboom croquettes, as well as the foodservice-focused brands Laan, Willie Dokter and KB.
Van Geloven will also take on three factories: one producing lines including croquettes in Oostzaan, north of Amsterdam; one further south in Wijk bij Duurstede manufacturing cheese-based products; and a third in Beuningen making meatballs.
Speaking to just-food today, Van Geloven CEO Peter Doodeman said the companies had been in talks for some months and the company would have made the acquisition “with or without” McCain’s investment.
He outlined why Van Geloven had moved for the Royaan assets. “We strengthen our position in foods in the foodservice market and very specifically we get a much bigger presence in the areas of hotels, restaurants and cafes. Second, we become a lot bigger in cheese products – cheese souffles, cheese bowls, mozzarella sticks, that kind of thing. It has a lesser presence in retail but some of the products are also very good for retail.”
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Doodeman said the deal would take Van Geloven’s annual sales from the EUR195m generated in 2015 to around EUR230m.
Asked if Van Geloven would look to consolidate some of the company’s newly-enlarged production footprint and whether factories could be closed, Doodeman said: “It’s still a little bit too early too tell.”
However, Doodeman did indicate Van Geloven had plans to “invest in a significant way in machinery equipment in cheese products” in one of its existing sites and in the Royaan plant in Wijk bij Duurstede.
McCain acquired a majority stake in Van Geloven this spring. At the time the deal was announced, McCain CEO Dirk van de Put said: “Van Geloven’s market leading brands and products offer us a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our overall appetiser and snack food market presence within the region.”
