Cargill enters deal for Singapore chocolate maker Aalst
US agri-food group Cargill has entered an agreement to acquire Singapore-based chocolate maker Aalst.
Aalst Chocolate was founded in 2003 and makes products for retail consumers sold under its own brands, including Louella, while also serving the foodservice channel and manufacturers.
Cargill, a major supplier globally of B2B chocolate and cocoa products, did not disclose the financial terms for the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval.
“The acquisition will significantly expand Cargill’s Asia-Pacific footprint, adding chocolate to its existing portfolio of cocoa products already sold throughout the region,” Minnesota-based Cargill said in a statement.
Approached by Just Food to clarify the size of Aalst’s consumer- and retail-focused business, a Cargill spokesperson confirmed it was about 3%. The Singaporean company does not publicly disclose its financial results.
“While we will focus on growing industrial and foodservice, which are core segments of Aalst’s business, we also see the retail segment as an important channel for us to capture consumer insights, trends and inspiration to bring back into the ingredients and foodservice space, and thereby create a more valuable service and product development for our customers,” the spokesperson for the US firm said.
Richard Lee, the founder and chief executive of Aalst, said in the statement: “We are proud of Aalst Chocolate’s heritage as a Singapore company with a renowned presence of over 18 years in Asia’s chocolate industry. Together with Cargill’s global expertise and experience, we believe that this new venture will be well-positioned to harness the full potential of exciting synergetic growth possibilities and become an ideal integrated chocolate solution provider for our customers.”
Aalst supplies more than 50 international markets, including other countries in south-east Asia, and China, South Korea, Japan and the Oceania region in the Asia Pacific. It makes artisan chocolates and compounds, “premium retail chocolate products”, and “luxury” pralines.
Upon completion of the transaction, Aalst’s manufacturing plant in Singapore and its R&D “capabilities” in the city-state and Shanghai in China, along with the firm’s 200 employees, will become part of Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate Asia-Pacific operations.
“The rapidly-growing Asian marketplace is increasingly wielding its influence around the globe, sparking inspiration and driving international trends,” Francesca Kleemans, the managing director for those operations, said in the statement. “Joining with Aalst strengthens our position in this critical region, enabling us to become the supplier-of-choice for industrial and foodservice customers.
“With an expanded selection of value-added and specialty chocolate products and deep technical expertise, together we can accelerate innovation, better helping customers create products that continue to surprise and delight.”
Aside from the deal for Aalst, Cargill added it is due to start its first Asian chocolate manufacturing operations in India in September to produce chocolate and chocolate compounds for the local market. In 2014, the company opened its first Asian cocoa processing facility in Gresik, Indonesia.
IKAR invites you to Rostov-on-Don on September 16 for the XXVI International Conference «Black Sea grain and oilseeds 2021/22»
The Russian Grain Union and the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies will host on the 16 th of September 2021 the XXVI International Conference “Black Sea Grain and Oilseeds 2021/22” in the Congress-Hotel Don-Plaza 4*, Rostov-on-Don. http://ikar.ru/
Why did we decide to choose Rostov-on-Don? Firstly, for a long time the Rostov region is supposed to be one of the biggest agricultural regions of our country. About 1/3 of the population lives in rural areas and the agricultural sector reaches 13% of the whole GDP. Lands close to the Don are distinguished to be extremely fertile. Secondly, every year Rostov-on-Don becomes the biggest platform in the Southern Federal District for presenting innovations and achievements of agricultural business that turned out to be the crucial factor for choosing it as a site of the XXVI International Conference “Black Sea Grain and Oilseeds 2021/22”. And in the third place this town is famous for its south hospitality that we’re often have a lack of.
Traditionally participants will be offered eventful and a highly topical Program. Historically this conference is a key grain event. It traditionally takes place when the contours of a new harvest are quite clear while both the market prices and the regulator’s behavior are still being formed.
The conference will be attended by the key representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, representatives of the biggest domestic agriholdings, domestic and multinational traders, millers, oilseed crushers, export terminal managers, banks, and domestic policy makers. It is expected that as in previous years 250-300 Russian and foreign guests will take part in this event.
In the framework of the conference there will be considered the following themes touching upon the legislative support and the state regulation and functioning of the Russian grain market, new trends on the world grain and oilseed markets, grain quality in the new season, sowing campaign of winter crops, crop size evaluation in three FSU Black Sea countries and many others.
For detailed information on preliminary program, registration and participation conditions, sponsorship and informational support of the Conference, please, contact the organizers:
Russian Grain Union:
Anastasia +7 (977) 972-97-40
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Reports in UK national newspapers suggest the army is on standby to help stock UK supermarket shelves.
The suggestion that army drivers should be brought in to help deliver food to UK supermarkets has received a less than enthusiastic response from industry bodies.
Reports in UK national newspapers – as yet unconfirmed by the government – suggest the army is on standby to help stock grocers.
The Daily Mail reported on Sunday (8 August) that up to 2,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers from the Royal Logistics Corps are on a five-day notice to deliver food and essentials to supermarkets.
There is a drastic shortage of truckers due to a number of factors including drivers departing the country following Brexit and the Covid crisis and a blockage in the system that has resulted in thousands of prospective hauliers still waiting for their HGV tests.
In June, the Road Haulage Association warned that there was a shortage of 100,000 lorry drivers in the UK, hampering deliveries of food from warehouses to supermarkets.
“The haulage industry is still short over 60,000 drivers so 2,000 HGV drivers from the army won’t make a dent in the problem.
“Our members continue to experience severe shortages of labour in all areas of production and logistics and it’s rapidly strangling the industry’s ability to operate.”
Fellow industry body The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), meanwhile, is urging the government to seek solutions for both the short and long term.
Mark Harrison, its economic research and employment policy manager, said: “The FDF is working closely with other representative bodies impacted to find ways to mitigate the effects of labour shortages. These include temporary solutions which will ease the pressure on the labour market, such as a short-term visa for HGV drivers, but also ensuring medium- and long-term measures are effective to increase domestic training and recruitment such as Restart and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
“Given that the solutions industry proposes are likely to have long lead-in times, we urge the government to begin implementing them as soon as possible to ensure capacity is available in advance of Christmas demand ramping up from the autumn.”
Just Food has sought clarification from the UK’s Ministry of Defence on the media reports.
The newspaper said the government is expected to make a formal request to the military for help “imminently” to cope with a crisis that has left some supermarket shelves bare and industry bodies calling on the government to take immediate action before things get worse.
But industry bodies suggest that if the stories are correct it is not a viable solution.
A spokesperson for the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said: “As far as the driver crisis goes, it’s steadily getting worse but nothing much has really changed in the government response.
A2 Milk Co. in New Zealand purportedly on radar of Nestle
An Australian newspaper has spurred speculation today (16 August) that A2 Milk Co. could be the target of a takeover, with Nestlé purportedly an interested party.
The Australian reported unspecified industry sources as saying the world’s largest food company ‘has a close eye’ on New Zealand-headquartered A2 Milk, although they said no further development is expected before the company publishes its annual results on 26 August.
Fresh milk and infant-formula producer A2 Milk has seen pressure emerge on its financial performance of late, particularly from China where demand for baby-milk products has waned as birth rates decline. The company cut its annual revenue and profit margin forecast in May – it also took similar action in February – citing the same China issue along with regulatory changes in the Asian country and the impact of Covid-19 on its business.
However, A2 Milk is not alone, as Nestlé itself has experienced pressure on its infant-formula sales in China as people have fewer children and more mothers choose to breast feed.
Responding to The Australian report, an A2 Milk spokesperson told Just Food the company “does not comment on market speculation or rumour”. It was a similar response from the Swiss business, with a spokesperson saying, “Nestlé does not comment on market rumours”.
A2 Milk noted in a May stock-exchange filing that the “trading dynamics in the China infant-nutrition market have been and continue to be challenging”.
At the time, the company cut its annual revenue forecast to a range of NZD1.2bn (then US$875.7m) to NZD1.25bn, from a revised estimate in February of NZD1.4bn. Last November, the company had envisaged a print of NZD1.8-NZD1.9bn.
The revision to the revenue outlook in February was instigated because of pressure on sales in China through the daigou channel, where traders outside that country buy products for customers to be shipped back to the market, and also its cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) business.
A2 Milk also lowered its EBITDA margin outlook in May to 11% to 12%, from the revised forecast of 24-26% made in February. Back in November, it had envisaged a rate of 31% for fiscal 2021.
It added then: “The company recognises that the China infant-nutrition market structure is changing rapidly. While the premiumisation trend is continuing, market growth is being impacted by a more pronounced decline in birth rates. It is also clear that the daigou/reseller channel has been cyclically impacted by Covid-19, regulatory and other structural factors.”
Italy’s Newlat swoops for UK manufacturer Symington’s
Newlat, the Italy-based food group that had been looking to make an acquisition in the UK, has announced a deal to buy local manufacturer Symington’s.
Under the terms of an agreement unveiled today (4 August), bakery, pasta and dairy manufacturer Newlat will pay GBP53m (US$73.7m) for Symington’s, a supplier of branded and own-label food.
Last autumn, Newlat had gone public with its interest in Hovis and wanted to hold exclusive talks over a possible deal to buy the UK bakery group.
Hovis was ultimately sold to private-equity firm Endless but Newlat was open about its interest in making acquisitions. The company told Just Food in March it was eyeing five possible targets in “complementary sectors” across Italy, Germany, France and the UK.
In February, Symington’s, which had UK investment fund Intermediate Capital Group as its majority investor, said it had hired advisors “to scope the market for opportunities” to allow the company “to invest and grow”. The statement came after a media report suggested Symington’s could be put up for sale.
Angelo Mastrolia, Newlat’s chairman, said: “This is an interesting business with high potential for growth and we deem it to be a perfect fit into our strategic plan. We see a number of synergies between our businesses as we both produce complementary but different categories of products.
“Not only will there be significant cost synergies but, also, this acquisition allows us to enlarge and diversify our product range and our geographical reach. This opportunity enables us to set foot into the UK and thus consolidate our position in this extremely relevant market. We are ready to invest in the business and to support its international expansion.”
The Symington’s product range includes pasta, soups, noodles and cooking sauces. The company’s brands include Mug Shot, Naked, Ilumi, Chicken Tonight and Ragu. Own label accounts for 48% of Symington’s business, according to the company’s latest results filing with Companies House. Some 47% of the group’s sales come through its brands, with the remainder from business-to-business and the firm’s new direct-to-consumer service.
In the year to 30 August, Symington’s generated turnover of GBP114.2m, up 4.2% on the previous 12 months. The company posted an operating profit of GBP2.8m, versus an operating loss of GBP2.9m a year earlier. After-tax profit was GBP2.9m, compared to a loss of GBP3.1m the previous year. Outside the UK, the company’s sales were GBP8.6m, versus GBP4.9m a year earlier, helped by listings with Walmart.
David Cox, a former director at the UK firm Fox’s Biscuits, became Symington’s CEO last autumn, succeeding former Associated British Foods director John Power, who spent three years at the helm.
Cox described the sale to Newlat as “fantastic news for us”. He added: “Newlat wants to invest in our business and our brands. It provides long-term security for our business with an international ambient and dairy food player operating in mutually beneficial categories and is an exciting time for us both.
“By bringing together both businesses we can combine our strengths, accelerate our growth and increase our global footprint. Symington’s provides a strong springboard for Newlat’s brands into the UK market and Newlat gives us further opportunities for us to grow our brands internationally where Newlat has operations – in Italy and Germany.”
Newlat has 1,500 employees across 14 production plants in Italy and one in Germany. Symington’s has manufacturing and distribution centres spread over two locations in Leeds, one in Bradford and another in Durham.
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