Finnish food group Atria has taken a 25% stake in Swedish convenience food producer Cookin Food Sweden.
Atria's Swedish arm is buying the minority shareholding from Bite Delight, Cookin Food Sweden's parent, for an undisclosed sum.
As part of the deal, Atria also has the option to buy the remaining shares of Bite Delight after 2028, according to a statement from Atria.
The deal is "in line" with the company's 'Together 2030' strategy, through which it "focuses on growing product categories", Atria CEO Kai Gyllström said.
"Convenience food is among the fastest‑growing product categories, and the company aims for rapid growth in its convenience food business. Atria is prepared to seize profitable growth opportunities and will allocate proportionally more investments during the strategy period to growing categories such as convenience food than to other product categories," he added.
Set up in 2012, Cookin Food Sweden's main products include salads and sandwiches supplied to local retail customers, as well as foodservice and "travel service operators".
Other goods in its range include sushi, "products for foodservice kitchens" and savoury pastries.
Jarmo Lindholm, executive vice president of Atria's Swedish business, described the investment as "an excellent opportunity for Atria to expand into new, growing product categories and high‑quality convenience food".
Cookin Food Sweden's annual turnover is around €18m ($21m), the statement said.
"This marks an important milestone in our growth journey and is a strong validation of our offering. With the right partner by our side, we are further strengthening our ability to continue developing even better solutions for our current and new customer," Kristina Lukes, CEO of Cookin Food Sweden, added.
Two years ago, Atria bought prepared foods manufacturer Gooh from Swedish agri-food group Lantmännen. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed at the time.
The Helsinki-listed company splits its operations into three business units: Atria Finland, Atria Sweden, and Atria Denmark and Estonia.
The Finnish and Sweden businesses produce brands such as Ridder Heims savoury snacks and Sybilla cold cuts. The Denmark and Estonia unit markets brands like Maks & Moorits and Vastse-Kuuste which both make meat products.
