Nordic food group Orkla has made another acquisition in the ingredients market with UK-based speciality fudge and toffee maker Confection by Design.
The deal was conducted via Orkla’s wholly-owned subsidiary NIC Enterprises for an undisclosed sum through its food ingredients division. It builds on the purchase in April of Zeelandia Sweden, which supplies margarine, vegetable oils and bakery products.
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Oslo-listed Orkla also snapped up Kanakis, a Greek ingredients manufacturer for confectionery, bakery and ice cream businesses, in March, and last year it bought Denmark’s Igos, a producer of marmalade and fruit fillings for bakeries and confectioners, among a host of other M&A deals.
Confection by Design supplies fudge and toffee to ice cream manufacturers, bakeries and confectioners, with around 80% of its sales generated in the UK and the rest from exports. Orkla said in a statement that two thirds of the company’s products are distributed by Orkla’s UK subsidiary, Orchard Valley Foods.
Tor Osmundsen, the chief executive of NIC, said: “The purchase of Confection by Design is strategically right and will complement Orkla Food Ingredients’ position as a supplier of inclusions and accessories to the bakery, chocolate and ice cream market.”
In its financial year just ended in June, privately-owned Confection by Design generated a turnover of GBP5.7m (US$7.2m). The firm was founded in 1988 and employs 35 people from its base in the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire.
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