Fresh Del Monte Produce, a vertically integrated producer, marketer, and distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables, has announced a partnership with I Squared Capital to accelerate digitisation.
I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities, digital infrastructure, transport, and social infrastructure in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Partnership
The partnership marks Fresh Del Monte taking the next step in digitising the group with forward-thinking innovations.
The group has invested in the I Squared Global InfraTech Fund, which seeks growth-stage companies applying modern technology in different sectors.
The partners will share investment prospects, seek to co-invest in certain deals, and offer general support by sharing research and learnings in certain fields of technology, including the Internet of Things (IoT), energy storage, and vertical farming.
Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman and CEO, Fresh Del Monte Produce, said, “This partnership accelerates Fresh Del Monte into the new digital era through selective investments in infrastructural technology that will help reduce and/or eliminate bottlenecks in our supply chain, driving us to be more efficient.”
“Simultaneously, we’ll also be able to develop additional capabilities internally for business expansion,” he added.
Fresh Del Monte
Working in producing, marketing, and distributing fresh fruit and vegetables, Fresh Del Monte also operates as a producer and distributor of prepared food in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The group has been marketing its products worldwide under the Del Monte brand for over 135 years.
The producer also markets its products under the Mann brand and other related trademarks.
In February of this year, the company reported a decline in net sales to $4.2 billion (€3.5 billion) in its financial year 2020, from $4.5 billion (€3.7 billion) in 2019. However, it retained an optimistic outlook about its performance in 2021, expecting to see gains in the new financial year.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
