FDBusiness.com

The Bel Group, the international cheese producer, is acquiring All in Foods, a French start-up that produces the Nature & Moi brand of plant-based foods. Bel will become the majority shareholder with an 80% stake, while the All in Foods’ founding family will own the remaining 20% interest.

The acquisition is in line with Bel’s strategy unveiled in 2015 aimed at expanding the company’s activities beyond cheese products to become a major player in the healthy snack market. After acquiring Morocco-based Safilait, a dairy producer, and MOM, the maker of the Materne®, GoGo squeeZ® and Montblanc® brands, Bel is confirming its strategy to diversify its product offering through growth in dairy, fruit and plant-based products, three complementary food segments.

Founded in 2013 by the Jouault family, All in Foods is based in Saint-Nazaire, in France’s Loire Atlantique region. The company has applied its recognized knowhow in plant-based foods to develop a wide range of plant-based alternatives to cheese, available in slices, blocks, bloomy rind, grated, and spreads, as well as plant-based sauces, under the Nature & Moi brand. In just a few years, All in Foods has become a key player in the plant-based foods sector, with its products sold primarily in hypermarkets and supermarkets, food service and B2B in France and internationally.

The fast-growing All in Foods anticipated consumer expectations early on and stands out in its market for the organoleptic profile of its products. The acquisition constitutes a particularly relevant innovation accelerator in the drive to meet sustainable food challenges.

Bel has thus gained recognized knowhow and a broad range of 100% plant-based products to enhance its existing product portfolio. The newly acquired savoir-faire will also help speed up the development of plant-based products across Bel’s entire brand portfolio, which includes such as brands as The Laughing Cow®, Kiri®, Mini Babybel®, Boursin®, and others, by offering wholly plant-based alternatives, as well as products that combine both dairy and plant-based raw materials.

Bel will self-finance the acquisition. The financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed. A liquidity agreement will allow Bel to acquire 100% of All in Foods’ share capital by 2024. The deal is expected to be completed at the latest by the end of May 2020.

Antoine Fievet, chairman and chief executive of Bel Group, says: “The Bel Group has enhanced its entry into the plant-based era and confirms its strong ambitions. We continue to diversify our product offering to meet new consumer expectations, and we are guided by our mission to champion healthier and responsible food for all. We believe in the excellence and potential that All in Foods has to offer, to meet the challenge for more sustainable food.”

Bel Group produces and sells its brands to consumers in nearly 130 countries and operates 30 production sites around the world.