Italian ready meals producer La Linea Verde plans to expand its activities to the Baltic countries and Serbia, as a bridgehead to enter Eastern Europe and Russia, according to reports.
The international expansion plans were revealed by commercial director Andrea Battagliola, in an interview to the Radiocor news agency. He said that revenue in 2017 should be around €240 million, up 6% from €225 million in 2016, with about 30% coming from exports, a percentage that should be maintained in 2018.
Positive Performance
The family-run company achieved a positive performance in Austria, Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic and plans to open a plant in Serbia by the end of the year.
It has also posted positive results from Spain, where the group has present since 2008 with the company Vegetales Linea Verde Navarra. For full year 2017, the expectation is that the turnover in Spain will grow by about 30% to €45 million and a similar trend should be repeated in 2018.
Among the priorities are small acquisitions in areas such as pre-cooked vegetables and the expansion of the Manerbio industrial park, with a view to supporting growth in Italy and abroad. The project will be completed by 2020, with a total investment of €15 million, funded both by own funds and by loans.
Core Focus
However, Italy remains the centre of attention for the group, as it seeks to gain a leading position in the organic sector.
After launching four new references this summer, including 'vegetable spaghetti', the company this week added two new ready-made gourmet soups. La Linea Verde markets its products under the brand DimmidiSi'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
