Liquorice company founders sell to Orkla
Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge is buying Lakrisgutta AS.
Lakrisgutta, a liquorice company established in 2009, started out as a small contender, selling its wares on the street from a highly conspicuous caravan. The liquorice venture is now being sold to Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge, which has strong brands like KiMs, Nidar and Sætre.
Lakrisgutta develops, markets and sells sweets with their own brands and unique flavours. In 2014, the company had a turnover of NOK 16.8 million. Around 70% of sales come from the grocery trade. In the past few years, the company has established solid market positions in the liquorice and lollipop segments, and is still growing.
"Fersk lakris i metervis" (Fresh liquorice by the metre), the Popit lollipop and the newly launched Funky Fudge are Lakrisgutta's main products. The company is known for its innovative in-store merchandising and untraditional marketing.
"Lakrisgutta offers a kind of "market variety" of liquorice and has created a brand that offers great delight. The owners' development of the Norwegian market for this type of product is impressive. In this acquisition, we see growth opportunities and the company is a good fit with our positions in the liquorice and confectionery segments," says Jeanette Hauan Fladby, CEO of Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge. She is certain that Orkla can provide specialised expertise and will further develop the concepts to please consumers and customers alike.
"Establishing Lakrisgutta has meant a lot of hard work over several years. The time was now ripe to let someone else take the company a step further. We feel good about the branded consumer goods company Orkla taking over, and are confident that they will continue to build respectfully on what we have created," says Tobias Martin Karem of Lakrisgutta.
Lakrisgutta will be taken over with accounting effect from 1 October 2015. The company has three employees. The Lakrisgutta founders will provide assistance during a transitional period in order to ensure a smooth handover to the new owner. Details of the company's integration into Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge will be clarified later.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Orkla Confectionery & Snacks is one of Orkla's five business areas. In 2014, the business area had a turnover of around NOK 5 billion and 2,359 employees at year-end. Orkla Confectionery & Snacks comprises the companies Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge, Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Sverige, KiMs in Denmark, Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Finland, Latfood and NP Foods in Latvia and Kalev in Estonia.
Orkla is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions to the grocery and out-of-home sectors in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The Group also holds good positions in certain product categories in India, the Czech Republic and Austria. Orkla is also a major supplier to the European bakery market. Orkla is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its headquarters are in Oslo, Norway. As of 31 December 2014, the Group had a turnover of NOK 30 billion and 13,000 employees.
Orkla ASA
Oslo, 9 September 2015
Ref.:
Director Corporate Communication, Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Norge
Robert Rønning
Mob.: +47 915 39 513