R&R Ice Cream Expands With €27 Million French Acquisition
UK-based R&R Ice Cream has expanded its French business with the Eur27m acquisition of Pilpa, the ice cream division of Maison Boncolac. Employing 154 people and operating from a factory in Carcassonne, Pilpa supplies own-label ice cream to the French supermarkets but it also active in the branded sector through products marketed under the Disney, Oasis and Pilpa brands.
The acquisition will add 23m litres of ice cream to R&R Ice Cream’s current annual production of 450m litres. The disposal will allow Maison Boncolac to focus on its frozen appetisers and patisserie businesses.
“I am delighted to strengthen our business in France with the acquisition of Pilpa and the strong brands it brings to R&R,” says James Lambert, chief executive of R&R Ice Cream. “Our French sales are now at a similar level to Germany and the UK, and we are ideally placed to benefit from the opportunities for further consolidation of the European ice cream sector.”
Created in 2006 by Oaktree Capital Management following the merging of Richmond Ice Cream with Roncadin, R&R Ice Cream is Europe’s biggest private-label ice cream manufacturer. R&R Ice Cream purchased Rolland, France’s third largest ice cream manufacturer, last year.
