Weekly Roundup: Campbell Soup signs sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet, AAK acquires UK-based BD Foods

01 Mar 2019 --- This week in food industry news, Campbell Soup signed a definitive agreement for the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet and Hain Celestial completed the first step in its divestiture of the Hain Pure Protein operating segment. Blue Diamond Growers entered into an agreement with Mexican Grupo Lala S.A.B. de C.V. for the commercialization of Almond Breeze almond-based beverages in Mexico. AAK acquired UK-based BD Foods to extend its customer co-development strategy and capabilities. Additionally, Darling Ingredients Inc. announced the financial results for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter, which saw roughly a US$100 million decrease, while dairy company Emmi announced a 5.3 percent increase in profits, attributable to organic growth of its European and US divisions and favorable acquisitions and exchange rates. In other news, PureCircle expanded its commercial teams to broaden its sales reach.

In brief: Acquisitions and agreements
Campbell Soup Company has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet to an affiliate of Fountain of Health USA, a maker of hummus, dips, variety packs, prepared salads, pâtés and frozen desserts. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Garden Fresh Gourmet is part of the Campbell Fresh division, which also includes Bolthouse Farms. Campbell recently announced the sale of its Everett, Washington, refrigerated soup plant that was also part of Campbell Fresh. As outlined in August 2018, as part of its Board-led strategy and portfolio review, Campbell is in the process of divesting both its Campbell Fresh and Campbell International businesses to increase the company’s focus, significantly reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The procedures to sell Bolthouse Farms and Campbell International are both on-track and Campbell expects to name buyers by the end of fiscal 2019.

The Hain Celestial Group has completed the first step in its divestiture of the Hain Pure Protein operating segment with the sale of the Plainville Farms business to Plainville Brands, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company backed by a group of private investors. Plainville Farms did not contribute to earnings or cash flow in the fiscal year 2018, according to the announcement. For the divestiture of the remainder of its Hain Pure Protein operating segment, the process remains ongoing and the company says it anticipates closing in the coming months.

Lead marketer and processor of California Almonds, Blue Diamond Growers, has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Grupo Lala S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican company focused on healthy and nutritious foods. The purpose of the agreement is the distribution and commercialization of Almond Breeze almond-based beverages in Mexico. “Mexico is a key market for Blue Diamond Growers in Latin America and one of the most relevant for the company's growth. Blue Diamond Growers has been making a significant investment in developing its international business and the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze brand globally,” says Mark Jansen, President and CEO of Blue Diamond Growers. 

AAK has acquired British foodservice company BD Foods in an effort to build and drive its customer co-development strategy and broaden its capabilities. BD Foods is a producer of tailor-made restaurant quality meal accompaniments established in 2001. It has a portfolio of more than 3,000 products and employees around 100 people. “This acquisition is a very good fit with our global foodservice expansion and will provide a complementary range of products at the premium end of the foodservice market”, says Johan Westman, President and CEO. “BD Foods has a broad product and packaging offering, a customer-centric approach and a strong reputation in UK foodservice.”

In brief: Recognition & awards
Vion has moved up to the number two spot of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) ranking. BBFAW evaluated the practices, processes and performance of 150 of the world’s largest food producers, retailers and food service companies in terms of animal welfare from 23 countries. Additionally, the company has modernized its Boxtel production location in a bid to strengthen its competitive position on a national and international level. The 35 million investment aims to shorten the supply chain, improve efficiency and offer a more sustainable way of working by organizing all this at a single location. The proposed plan is set to be realized by mid-2021.

In brief: Appointments & retirements
PureCircle has hired three new Vice Presidents to the business. Aymeric De Gantes will serve as Vice President of Business Development. He recently served in multiple roles for Naturex, including as a Global Director and as a Sales and Business Development Director. Catalina Reachi Simon will serve as Regional Vice President of North Latin America Sales, she is experienced in leading business teams and most recently served as the General Manager for Mexico, Central America and Colombia at Roha Sciences. Chris Tower will serve as the company’s Regional Vice President of North American Sales. He was formerly founding president and CEO of Layn USA, Inc. These new leaders will report to CCO Stéphane Ducroux who joined the company in 2018. In addition, PureCircle has added members to its global and regional teams; the company has also promoted Dave Gallagher and Ken Horn to Vice Presidents of Global Key Accounts. Gallagher and Horn will oversee sales to some of the company’s most critical global customers and are experts in the company’s products and their applications.

Flavor expert Prova Inc. has announced the appointment of Michael Courts as its new Southeast Sales Manager. Courts will be managing Prova’s Southeast US key accounts and develop new accounts in that territory. “We are delighted to have Mike join our sales team. He’s a dynamic, highly motivated individual well versed in the kind of technical selling required to succeed in our market. I’m confident that Mike will continue to deliver revenue growth in the rapidly expanding territory of the American Southeast,” says Pam deVries, General Manager and VP Sales, PROVA Inc.

In brief: Business News
Darling Ingredients Inc. has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter, which saw a decrease of approximately US$100 million. The global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients reported US$850 million in net sales for 2018 fourth quarter compared to the US$950 million in the last quarter of 2017. The decrease in net income for 2018’s Q4 is, according to the company, the result of an income tax expense, as opposed to an income tax benefit in the same period of 2017. This is due to US and EU several tax reforms, combined with higher depreciation costs from increased capital expenditures which offset increased income from unconsolidated subsidiaries and lower selling, general and administrative expenses. However, Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and CEO of Darling Ingredients Inc. says “During the year, we made strong advancements executing our world of growth strategy to create a sustainable portfolio of value-added and specialty ingredients through multiple, completed construction projects, expansions and bolt-on acquisitions.”

Swiss-based dairy products company Emmi reported an increase in sales by 3 percent (2,3 organic) during 2018, which translates to CHF 3,400 million (US$3406 million). The company’s earnings increased by roughly 5 percent to CHF 217 million (US$217,40 million). The increase is attributed to the organic growth in Emmi’s European and American business divisions, as well as favorable exchange rates and profitable acquisitions. Furthermore, the company notes that an increase in productivity helped leverage the negative effects of high prices in raw materials. Emmi foresees a comparable organic growth to occur in 2019 as well. 

In brief: Other highlights
EHL Ingredients has expanded its premises and invested £1 million (US$1.3 million) in a new 8,000 square foot site on the Broadstone Industrial Estate, Stockport, in the UK, in a bid to keep up with growing customer demand for its products. With two facilities already on the estate, this is EHL’s third unit, taking the total space to 40,000 square feet. The third site houses new machinery, including a vertical form filler which fills pillow bags and tubs for dried herbs and spices, seeds and powders, as well as other products. In addition to the new premises, the supplier of international food ingredients is celebrating several key achievements; in the last 12 months it has launched a new foodservice brand, Lähde, it has made several key staff appointments in blending and packing departments, and once again achieved Class A British Retail Consortium (BRC) accreditation in its recent audit.