Unifine Sauces & Spices Acquired by Clearwood 

06/12/07 Royal Cosun and Clearwood have reached agreement on the sale of Unifine Sauces & Spices. The acquisition is still dependent on the opinion of the Works Council.

Unifine Sauces & Spices produces a large variety of sauces and spices. It is, for example, the market leader in satay sauce. From two factories in Puttershoek and Nijkerk, products are delivered to supermarkets, wholesalers and the international food industry. Unifine Sauces & Spices has a workforce of about 300.

Cosun no longer considers Unifine Sauces & Spices to be one of its core activities. Gert de Raaff (Cosun's director of Corporate Development): “Cosun's acquisition of CSM Suiker earlier this year significantly strengthened our core activities. Unifine Sauces & Spices is a healthy business with good growth potential. This has also been proved by the management in recent years. We have therefore looked for an appropriate buyer who can grow the company further."
 
Clearwood is delighted with the acquisition. Ton Cieraad (a Clearwood director): “We are enthusiastic about the industry. Together with the staff, Unifine Sauces & Spices' management has built up strong positions in a number of markets and we have identified many opportunities to strengthen and expand them together. The acquisition will have no consequences for employment."
 
Clearwood has incorporated a company, Intertaste, to acquire Unifine. Ton Cieraad: “We believe there are promising openings to play a challenging role in the production and sale of both sauces and spices. Through Intertaste, we will draw up an expansion strategy.”
 
The acquisition is expected to be finalised in the near future.