Weekly Roundup: Aryzta offloads majority of its stake in Picard, Dr Oetker acquires Cake Craft World

04 Oct 2019 --- This week in industry news, Swiss-Irish baker Aryzta, maker of Cuisine de France, received a binding offer of €156 million (US$171 million) for the majority of its stake in French high-end frozen foods company Picard, amounting to 80 percent of its asset disposal objective. German cake mix producer Dr Oetker acquired UK-based decorating company Cake Craft World.US cranberry cooperative Ocean Spray unveiled a new brand, Atoka Wellness, while the Beyond Meat burger went on sale for a 12-week trial at McDonald’s branches in Toronto, Canada, and surrounding communities in southwest Ontario.

In brief: Business developments
Swiss-Irish baker Aryzta has received a binding offer of €156 million for the majority of its stake in French high-end frozen foods company Picard, amounting to 80 percent of its asset disposal objective. Aryzta, manufacturer of the bakery brand Cuisine de France, acquired the stake in early 2015 for €447 million. The deal represents 43 percent of Aryzta’s stake in Picard. Aryzta notes that when combined with prior Picard dividend income of €91 million, the deal represents a total value of €247 million. The deal is expected to close in the last quarter of this year, with Aryzta announcing its full year results on October 8. The company’s share price has lost over 90 percent of its value in the last five years resulting from profit warnings and poor results.

Dr Oetker is to acquire UK-based Cake Craft World.German cake mix producer Dr Oetker has acquired UK-based decorating company Cake Craft World, which comprises a portfolio of bakery brands including Rainbow Dust and Cake Décor. Currently, Cake Craft World offers more than 10,000 products, including a wide range of cake decorations, equipment, tools, books and packaging. Financial details of the deal have not been divulged by both the companies.

Marussia Beverages UK has announced it has signed an agreement to distribute Constellation Brands’ craft spirits portfolio in the UK. The import and distribution company is collaborating with Constellation Brands to distribute their craft spirits: The Real McCoy Rum, Casa Noble Tequila and High West American Whiskey. The Real McCoy Rum is inspired by Bill McCoy, the pioneer rum runner of the prohibition era who in 1920 was the first to fill a boat with alcohol in the Caribbean and head to New York City where he gained notoriety for his floating liquor store three miles off shore. 

Spanish food company Borges International Group has officially opened a new seed oil extraction plant in Tárrega, Catalonia. In the period between June 2018 and May 2022, Borges invested €23.1 million toward plans to improve efficiency and sustainability. Most of the investment is in the construction of the new seed oil extraction plant and associated facilities, at a total cost of €10 million. The new extraction machinery will increase output by up to 30 percent while reducing costs. It will also improve the performance of the extraction process, increasing the ratio of oil obtained in the seed oil extraction process, enhancing the security of the process and operator working conditions. This upgrade is put toward reducing the environmental impact of the company’s operations by reducing volatile organic compound emissions,as well as steam, electricity and gas consumption, all necessary to oil extraction.

In brief: New product launchesAtoka by Cranberry Spray.
US cranberry cooperative Ocean Spray has unveiled a new brand, Atoka Wellness. The brand was developed at the co-ops’s Boston-based innovation hub, Lighthouse. Atoka, which means cranberry in French-Canadian, is a line of herbalist-crafted, plant-based drink blends moving Ocean Spray into a health and wellness beverage category. The product’s wellness benefits are rooted in restorative herbs and nutrient-dense fruits featured in Herbal Shots, Tea Tonics and Oatmilk Elixirs. Ocean Spray’s Lighthouse pioneered the development of Atoka – and takes an entrepreneurial approach to fuel disruptive, agile innovation. The incubator is geared toward meeting consumers on their wellness journeys and tackling the greatest challenges facing food and beverage brands today.

In brief: Miscellaneous
French oilseed processor Avril, with its Belgian-headquartered oleochemicals subsidiary Oleon, is engaging in a field program for forest protection in Indonesia. The project allows Avril to better understand the challenges and impact of the Areas for Priority Transformation (APT) program that it has been funding since the end of 2018. Through its adoption of Earthworm Foundation’s (EF) Values, Transparency, Transformation and Audit (VTTV) approach, Avril is now involved in the transformation phase towards zero deforestation by supporting actions in the field. The APT program aims to preserve four large forest areas in Indonesia, many of which are recognized as biosphere reserves by UNESCO. EF's work consists of mobilizing all the actors of the territory (local government, communities, large plantations, small producers, etc.) to achieve concerted management and stop deforestation.

By Benjamin Ferrer