Dutch investment company Standard Investment has taken over the fruit juice company Riedel, following its sale by dairy giant FrieslandCampina.
Riedel produces and sells fruit juices under brands such as Appelsientje, CoolBest, DubbelFrisss, DubbelDrank, Taksi and Extran. In 2016, it achieved a turnover of about €125 million with 200 employees.
Earlier this year, FrieslandCampina announced that it was selling Riedel to focus more on its dairy portfolio. With an annual turnover of €11 billion, the company is among the six largest dairy businesses in the world.
In September, the company also announced that Hein Schumacher will take the position of chief executive from 1 January next year, succeeding Roelof Joosten.
Lower Juice Consumption
“Riedel has developed itself to become market leader in ambient and chilled juices and fruit drinks in the Netherlands since the nineteen seventies. Consumers give Appelsientje, CoolBest, DubbelFrisss and DubbelDrank places in the top 10 of indispensable drink brands. However, we drink as a whole about 25 percent less fruit juices than we did 10 years ago and this has had an impact on Riedel,” said Guido Grobbink, partner with Standard Investment.
Standard Investment believes the move to be an important expansion of its portfolio. The Amsterdam investment firm, which was founded in 2004, focuses on small and medium-sized Dutch and Belgium businesses. It manages a portfolio of 15 companies with a total of over 3,000 employees and a turnover of €500 million.
It also has interests in Burger King Netherlands, the Dutch Bakery Group, and the Aweta vegetable and fruit sorting machine company.
“We want to put emphasis again on the inherent qualities of fresh and other fruit juices and the importance of these for a well-balanced lifestyle. This is quite a challenge, but we have a lot of confidence in the employees and the management. I am looking forward to expand the entrepreneurship in Riedel and to give the wonderful brands of this company the attention they deserve,” said Grobbink.
The financial details of the takeover have not been published. The transaction is still dependent on a number of conditions including the approval from the Authority for Consumers & Markets and the completion of the works council consultation.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
