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Prinsen Food Group to acquire Schokoladenfabrik Gustav Berning

24 Aug 2017

Dutch instant dietary meals, sports nutrition and powdered wellness food products company Prinsen Food Group is to align with German protein foodbars company Schokoladenfabrik Gustav Berning.

Dutch instant dietary meals, sports nutrition and powdered wellness food products company Prinsen Food Group says it intends to align with German company Schokoladenfabrik Gustav Berning, one of the largest producers of protein foodbars in Europe. Its four major product categories include protein bars, energy bars, meal replacement/lean bars and cereal bars.

Berning was founded in 1915 and produces a wide range of products, both for brand owners and private label. Prinsen and Berning focus on the same markets in Europe, where Berning also realizes a substantial part of its revenues in Asia and the United States. The company name and activities of Schokoladenfabrik Gustav Berning remain unchanged and will be part of the new holding Prinsen-Berning. The intended acquisition is subject to approval by the German competition authorities.

Both Prinsen and Berning have their own R&D departments and a large-scale production capacity to facilitate the growing demand for 'Active Nutrition'. This category includes functional foods related to diet, active slimming, sports and wellness foods, enriched with protein. This market has demonstrated strong growth in Europe and worldwide.

"I am impressed with the results, technical knowledge and the innovative character of the Berning organisation and give a warm welcome to our German colleagues in the group,” said Alexander Collot d'Escury, CEO of Prinsen Food Group. “With the complementary acquisition of Berning, we are convinced that we can offer an even better proposition to our customers. The combination provides more R&D capabilities and we can offer a one-stop-shop solution to our customers. In addition, with the increased production capacity we can better respond to the fast-growing global market demand. With the demographic changes of an aging population and costs related to public healthcare continuously on the rise, the role of food becomes increasingly important. We already make a strong contribution in this area and will continue to do so. It is our international ambition to become the leading player in diet, sports and wellness nutrition in the instant and ready-to-eat segment for brand owners and private label."