French cheese-maker Fromagerie E. Graindorge has been bought over by Lactalis, which will increase its Normandy protected-designation-of-origin (PDO) product portfolio through the acquisition.
Graindorge, which has a workforce of 250, has an annual turnover of approximately €50 million and is supplied by 116 dairy farmers.
Lactalis told Just-Food.com, "Lactalis already produces the cheeses in which Graindorge specialises, so purchasing the company strengthens our position in this part of the market.
“The deal reflects how important we view the development of PDO cheeses."
Graindorge, in a statement directed to its dairy farmers, said, "[We] have chosen Lactalis in order to ensure the autonomy of the group, maintain its identity and safeguard all of the current workforce. There's a clause in the sale agreement which stipulates that there will be no redundancies."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
