ADM Hopes WILD Acquisition Will Boost Global Expansion Plans

09 Jul 2014 --- ADM’s recent acquisition of WILD Flavors will help add weight to its plans to grow the business into new areas such as Brazil, India, China and Southeast Asia, according to the company. The two companies are also “uniquely positioned” to facilitate new product development and reformulations.

ADM’s president of North American Oilseeds, Greg Morris, told FoodIngredientsFirst that the move supplements ADM’s already growing foods and wellness portfolio with “world-class flavors, adding great, natural taste to ADM’s strengths in nutrition, function and texture.” He explained that, “We also have significant opportunity to take Wild’s European business, which is primarily focused on beverages, and move it into food applications, and push Wild’s North American business further into food applications, where ADM already has a strong presence.”

In addition, both companies are focused on the global consumer trends to reduce sugar, fat and sodium from the diet, explained ADM’s chief executive officer, Patricia Woertz. “ADM has expertise in fiber and protein while WILD offers the tastes to help our customers make these reductions and still be able to offer great tasting foods.”

She also noted that between them, the two companies were able to serve a wide range of growing markets including health and nutrition, beverages, meat products, baked goods, snacks and confection and also personal care.

Morris also explained that together the two companies have access to larger and medium-sized consumer packaged goods customers and as well as small, entrepreneurial companies that have “revolutionized certain segments of the food and beverage industry, such as energy drinks”. He went on to say, “We will be able to leverage ADM’s global scale, logistics and processing capabilities and will also be able to target new markets like pet foods and foodservice as well as customers in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India.”

The acquisition of WILD allows for “substantial revenue synergy opportunities”, including a number of cross-selling opportunities “given the complementary customer bases and products”, and also the joint development of “multi-dimensional food ingredient systems”, which can combine taste, texture, nutrition and function.
“Our key priority is to allow WILD Flavors’ culture to thrive,” said Woertz. ADM is respectful of WILD’s 83 years of expertise, and its ability to offer leading-edge innovation. “WILD has developed close, long-term customer partnerships and it has unsurpassed quality and consistency. WILD is trend-setting and has visionary insights.”

The deal with WILD, which ADM says is its biggest ever acquisition, comes eight months after Australia rejected ADM’s offer for grain handling company Graincorp, because of concerns the deal would have competition issues.

Acquiring WILD will help ADM gain a stronger foothold in the market for foods make with more natural raw materials, extending it out of the commodity arena.

“We don’t have a lot of other parts of the business that have the high margin, low volatility, high growth markets that can be a growth engine,” said Woertz. “As you know, the commodity business can have its ups and downs.”

WILD is also the owner of a separate company that makes soft drink Capri-Sun, but this is not part of the deal.

by Sonya Hook