US confectionery giant The Hershey Company has acquired a minority stake in Fulfil Nutrition, an Irish producer of vitamin and protein bars.
In a statement, Fulfil Holdings Limited, which owns the brand, said that the investment will 'propel its phenomenal growth and disruption of the snacking market across Europe and Australia'.
“Our objective is to deliver great-tasting, nutritional snacking products to consumers worldwide. Over the last 18 months we have built a highly capable management team and have developed an aggressive expansion strategy based on a thorough understanding of our target consumer," said Brian O’Sullivan, CEO of Fulfil Holdings.
O'Sullivan is the former head of the Cadbury brand in Ireland, and also held a number of senior positions at Mondelēz International in Switzerland.
Snacking Vision
The acquisition forms part of Hershey's 'snacking powerhouse' vision, which has seen the firm acquire better-for-you snacks to complement its range of confectionery brands. The partnership will create opportunities in new occasions among new consumer segments and markets.
"I am delighted that The Hershey Company with its scale and knowledge of snacking built over 125 years has seen the opportunity that Fulfil poses. Its investment will enable our expansion strategy and is an exciting milestone in what has already been the incredible journey of Fulfil," O'Sullivan added.
Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor to Fulfil Holdings Limited in connection with the transaction.
Hershey Performance
In July, Hershey reported a 0.9% increase in consolidated net sales in the second quarter of its financial year, to $1.77 billion, of which $1.57 billion was generated in the US and Canada.
Its International and Other segment, which mainly includes 'strategic focus markets' Mexico, Brazil, India and China, saw second-quarter net sales up 3.9% to $199.2 million.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
