Barentz International Acquires Maustepalvelu From Finland to Strengthen its Customised Blending

27 Jun 2014 --- Barentz International proudly announces the acquisition of Maustepalvelu from Finland. This acquisition will expand Barentz capacity in the development and production of customer specific blends in Europe.

Headquartered close to Helsinki, Maustepalvelu (MP Spice Service) specialises in developing customised blends with a focus on the meat, fish and snacks industries. For Barentz International, the acquisition of MP Spice Service reinforces the strategic importance of offering flexible blending capabilities to customers in the Food & Nutrition industries. Having a strong team and a production location in Finland is also of strategic importance for the Barentz geographical presence in Europe.

“Offering more choices in blends as well as in single ingredients adds value to our relationships with customers who are looking for a one-stop-shopping experience,” explains Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz International, mentioning that Barentz is traditionally strong in the meat & fish industries. “Not only are we seeing an expansion of our single ingredients business with our customers in the meat and fish industries, we also see a strong demand from our customers for specific blends to increase taste, texture and stability of their products. We have been looking for ways to reinforce the research & development part of our business and have found a great innovative partner in MP Spice Services. They truly are a leader in creating genuine new flavours.”

A leading blender in Finland, MP Spice Service operates a highly modern R&D and production facility with more than one thousand different blends and several production and packaging lines. Mikko Salonen, Managing Director of MP Spice Services explains: “This development is an absolute advantage for our customers. Being supported by Barentz’ extensive sales network and deep industry knowledge we will be better able to serve our customers in some of our very important markets just around the corner, like the Nordics, Baltics and Russia. We are a true market leader here in Finland, but we would like to grow through exporting our products. Barentz – with sales teams present in all European countries – is ideally positioned to help us with market access opportunities in Europe.“

With about half its turnover originating in the Food & Nutrition industry, Barentz has grown substantially in the last couple of years. In 2010 Barentz reported a turnover of 724 million Euro. In 2013, Barentz realized a group turnover of 880 million Euro. Reflecting its focus on proteins, health & well-being and on natural and clean label solutions, Barentz will aim to develop the synergies with MP Spice Service by sharing existing successful blend formulations and will be looking into  developing more innovative blends for the meat substitution, vegetarian, bakery  and health & nutrition areas, together with  the MP Research & Development team.