Ferrero completes Delacre acquisition

A Ferrero-affiliated entity has closed its acquisition of Belgian biscuit manufacturer Delacre from United Biscuits.

The acquisition of Delacre from United Biscuits, which is part of the global biscuits and confectionery company owned by Yildiz, Pladis, includes biscuit brands Delacre and Délichoc.

As part of the transaction, the Ferrero-affiliated entity will take over all production facilities and retain the management and employees of the businesses. Jérôme Grégoire has been appointed managing director of Delacre with immediate effect.

“As an iconic manufacturer of fine biscuits with a rich heritage and an established player in Belgium and France, Delacre is in a great position to build on and further expand its offering,” Grégoire noted. “I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues to capture the growth potential of the business.”

The deal, which was first announced in the summer, was described by one Euromonitor analyst as an attempt to reduce Ferrero’s over-reliance on chocolate, which it believes is facing a number of challenges both from supply and demand sides.

Speaking earlier this year, Pinar Hosafci, senior food analyst at Euromonitor, said, Delacre is a relatively safer bet for Ferrero as the company specialises in premium biscuits, which has “obvious synergies” with chocolate and complements Ferrero’s image as a premium player.

“This holds a strategic opportunity for Ferrero, which has been struggling to increase its footprint in North America in the face of the strong competition from Lindt, which has doubled its revenue within less than five years to reach 9% of the chocolate market in 2015, and Godiva, which – unlike in Western Europe – is sold in mass retailers in the US including Walmart,” Hosafci explained.

“By bringing its chocolate-based innovation to the biscuits category, Ferrero could use Delacre as a tool to crack open the North American market which to date still remains the world’s uncontested leader in snacks.”

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