Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “Our Beverage business has recorded strong growth in the past fiscal year, benefiting from the increasing trend towards out-of-home consumption. With the acquisition of the commercial beverages vending activities of FrieslandCampina Kievit, we strengthen our range of specialties products. This is fully in line with our goal to drive ‘smart’ growth, i.e. focusing on margin-accretive products and accelerating our growth in Gourmet & Specialties.”
Barry Callebaut’s Vending & Beverages division is part of the Gourmet & Specialties Products Group. With two production locations in Sweden and UK, it is a major player in the European beverage and vending industry. The Beverage business specializes in the manufacture and supply of highly soluble chocolate, cappuccino and other powders for use across all aspects of the beverage sector. It has leading R&D capabilities and operates unique state-of-the-art facilities. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Closing of the transaction is expected within the first quarter of 2016.