Swiss food group Aryzta plans to drive its flatbreads category Honeytop globally via a joint venture with the group that previously ran the business.
According to British Baker’s sister title The Grocer, Signature Flatbreads will be a 50/50 joint venture between the European bakery giant and Charles and William Eid, whose family founded Honeytop in 1984.
The company supplies naan breads, tortilla wraps and chapatis to all the UK’s major supermarkets. It was bought in a multi-million-pound deal by Aryzta in 2011, and has since grown revenues to £78.9m in the year to 31 July 2013 with a gross profit of £21.1m.
A mooted separate deal yet to be confirmed would entail a further link-up with the Eid brothers regarding their Indian venture Signature International Foods, which has been producing flatbreads in the Indian market under the Fresh2Go brand since the Honeytop sale. William Eid, who will become chief executive of Signature Flatbreads, told The Grocer the deal would create a “new global leadership” in flatbreads.
“The flatbreads market is in very high growth,” he said. “With Aryzta’s global reach and distribution channels we expect to drive the category globally.”
The former Honeytop business already services 32 countries, while Signature International Foods reaches 15 countries and has recently secured a listing with Woolworths in Australia. Eid is targeting growth in the UK and Asia-Pacific and plans to expand into the US at some point.
New products developed by the Indian business will be launched in the UK.
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