GHENT, BELGIUM — Vandemoortele, a leading European family-owned food group, announced it has reached a strategic partnership agreement with Swedesboro, NJ-based Banneton Bakery, Inc., a North American producer of premium freezer-to-oven croissants, Danishes and pastries.
As part of the agreement, Vandemoortele will acquire a majority stake in Banneton. Vandemoortele owns brands such as Banquet D’Or, which also produces freezer-to-oven croissants
Banneton Bakery’s founders, Victor Litinetsky, president, and his son, Alex Litinetsky, executive VP, will continue to lead day-to-day operations.
“Banneton Bakery’s operations and offerings highly complement our own business in North America, with a shared focus on quality and authentic European-style pastry products,” said Yvon Guerin, CEO of Vandemoortele. “This partnership will allow us to provide significant additional value to our customers, business partners and associates.”
The acquisition reinforces Vandemoortele’s focus and commitment of serving US customers. By having a local production platform, Vandemoortele will be able to better serve US customers and grow value for them as a committed local partner.
“This transaction represents a historic and important milestone for Vandemoortele of having a first production platform in the US,” said Jean Vandemoortele, board chair.
“This transaction represents a historic and important milestone for Vandemoortele of having a first production platform in the US.” —Jean Vandemoortele | board chair | Vandemoortele
Vandemoortele and Banneton own complementary manufacturing processes and product capabilities, developed through years of intensive research and development.
“Our advanced manufacturing process and infrastructure in the US and our very strong value proposition to customers are a perfect match for Vandemoortele’s premier bakery expertise, brand recognition and global presence,” Victor said. “We are very excited to partner with Vandemoortele and pursue our growth journey together.”
Earlier this year, Vandemoortele USA appointed Christine Hoguet as USA marketing manager to help with strategically marketing to North American retailers to find growth opportunities. Jeff Block joined Vandemoortele last fall as VP of foodservice. He will also help identify new opportunities while assisting the company’s US team in managing current foodservice partners.
