FDBusiness.com

Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries has acquired 100% of Urban Fresh Foods, the innovative British healthy food company, which makes natural fruit snacks and cereals with 100% natural ingredients, under the BEAR and Urban Fruit brands.

Based out of its ‘Cave’ in London, UFF was founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Hayley and Andrew Gait-Golding, who were joined shortly after by former innocent drinks director Giles Brook who invested in 2009. UFF is focused on a simple need to deliver no-nonsense foods that bridge the gap between ‘happy and healthy’. The business, which now has 40 employees, has delivered over 375 million portions of fruit and has seen rapid growth over the past six years with average annual growth in excess of 50%. This has been driven by an explosive demand for its healthy fruit snacks across the UK’s major grocery and retail channels. Net revenue of UFF for the year 2016 is estimated to be at least £27 million with strong profitability of 18% earnings before taxes.

Hayley and Andrew Gait-Golding (founders) and Giles Brook (partner) will continue to run the business from its London offices.

Lotus wants to make exciting, healthy snacking options more readily available to a large consumer base of both adults and children in Europe and beyond. That is why four months ago, Lotus Bakeries entered into a strategic partnership with the British wholefood company, Natural Balance Foods, makers of bars and snacks with 100% natural ingredients, sold under the Nākd and Trek brands.

Jan Boone, chief executive of Lotus Bakeries, comments: “As a group, Lotus Bakeries wants to offer both more indulgent specialties and healthy snacking alternatives. Additionally we recognize there is a growing global demand for healthy alternatives hence we invested in Natural Balance Foods in the summer and now are delighted to add the brands of UFF. With this acquisition we will lead the way and become the true ‘Category Captain’ of the healthy snacking category in the UK and abroad. With this acquisition we strengthen our position in the UK, which becomes our biggest country in branded turnover, followed by Belgium, the Netherlands and France.”

Lotus Bakeries has production facilities in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Sweden, and 15 own sales organizations in Europe, the United States and Asia. Lotus Bakeries also works with commercial partners in forty countries worldwide. Lotus Bakeries has 1,321 employees. With Peijnenburg and Snelle Jelle, the company is a market leader in gingerbread in the Netherlands. Under the Nākd and Trek brands, Lotus Bakeries offers tasty snacks, manufactured from all-natural, unprocessed ingredients, with no added sugar. In 2014, Lotus Bakeries achieved a turnover of Eur 347.9 million. The shares of Lotus Bakeries are listed on Euronext Brussels.