$5.2 Billion Snacking Giant Created
Turkey-based Yildiz Holding is combining its global chocolate and biscuits businesses, which include United Biscuits, Godiva, DeMet’s and Ülker, under a new umbrella called Pladis. Already the world’s third largest biscuit manufacturer and a leading international player in chocolate confectionery, the newly created snacking giant employs 26,000 people and has annual sales of $5.2 billion. Yıldız Holding produces chocolates, biscuits and all types of confectionery in 77 factories across 14 countries.
Yildiz Holding became the world’s third largest biscuits manufacturing following its $3.3 billion acquisition of United Biscuits in 2014. United Biscuits is the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the UK and second largest in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Ireland. Among United Biscuits’ popular brand names are McVitie’s, Penguin, go ahead!, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, Jacob’s, Jacob’s Cream Crackers, Twiglets, Mini Cheddars and Carr’s in the UK, and BN, Delacre, Verkade and Sultana in Continental Europe.
Pladis will operate across three regions – Turkey, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia; Japan and Korea; and Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The name ‘Pladis’ derives from ‘Pleiades’, the Latin name of a seven-star cluster, which also represents Ülker, Yildiz Holding’s flagship biscuits and confectionery brand.
“It is of great importance to be innovative, consumer wise and open to new ideas in order to become a global company. As a pioneering company, we have now combined all of our brands under one ceiling,” says Murat Ülker, chairman of Yıldız Holding.
Yildiz Holding plans to invest more than 1.6 billion Turkish liras ($530 million) in 2016 to increase capacity in its Turkish, US and the UK operations. In line with its re-structuring, Yildiz Holding recently sold 90% of its beverage companies Della Gıda, Bahar Su and İlk Mevsim Suları to Dydo DRINCO for 335 million Turkish liras.
