Kerry completes US$1B Niacet purchase to create “world-leading food protection and preservation platform”

14 Sep 2021 --- Kerry has completed the acquisition of Niacet, which was previously announced in June, as Kerry seeks to strengthen its food protection and preservation strategy. 

Niacet is a key player in preservation, and its business complements Kerry’s extensive portfolio of food protection and preservation technologies and processes.

Globally, the consumer and market demand for technologies that preserve freshness, extend shelf life and reduce the global burden of food waste is accelerating. 

Tapping into consumer demand 
Niacet has a clear leadership position in bakery and has cost-effective low-sodium preservation systems for meat and plant-based food. Its range includes both conventional and clean label solutions. 

Kerry will build upon the commercial reach of Niacet’s brands by adding the breadth and depth of its global network, innovation and application centers of excellence, as well as its taste and nutrition expertise.  

Kerry’s food protection portfolio combined with Niacet’s capabilities strengthen the company’s global food protection and preservation platform.Through its clean label food protection and preservation technologies portfolio, Kerry has been keeping food safe for many decades. 

This acquisition strengthens the company’s position by the addition of complementary technologies while also accelerating its growth. 

The increased selection of preservation solutions and innovative food protection systems combined with the complete taste and nutrition offering will support Kerry and its broad global customer base to solve the world’s most complex food protection challenges.

Sustainable nutrition 
Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry, says the company is focused on creating sustainable nutrition, which is about providing food that has less impact on the Earth’s resources. 

“Reducing food waste is a key component of this, and one of the most effective ways to reduce food waste is through preservation where even one extra day of shelf life can have a hugely positive impact,” he outlines. 

“We are excited to welcome the Niacet team to Kerry, where the combination of our two businesses have created a global leadership position in the preservation sector.”

Kelly Brannen, CEO of Niacet, says the move is an excellent opportunity for both companies. “Working together, we will grow Niacet at a much faster rate and sell in new markets around the world.”

“Through this acquisition, we are combining two companies who share the same dedication to science and innovation to develop new technologies for food preservation, pharmaceutical applications and animal nutrition,” adds Neil Cracknell, president and CEO of Kerry Applied Health and Nutrition. 

“We look forward to working with the Niacet leadership team and all of our Niacet colleagues to complete this integration successfully and swiftly.”

Preservation strategies highlighted 
Kerry continues to co-create with customers to solve the most complex safety, shelf life, taste, nutrition and appeal challenges they face as part of their preservation strategies.

Last month, Kerry was granted a US patent protecting its process for curing meat or meat products using a natural, plant-based curing agent. The company spoke with FoodIngredientsFirst about how the patent is crucial to Kerry’s growing intellectual property portfolio and reaffirms Kerry’s global position in food preservation.

The company has also observed a rising trend in meat products with cleaner, shorter labels. More consumers are actively working to eliminate unrecognizable and artificial ingredients from their diets.

Notably, Kerry’s 2021 Food Safety Fundamentals proprietary research showed that 60 percent of consumers are more concerned about food safety because of the pandemic. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green

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