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Puratos to acquire Dawn Foods

Belgian bakery, patisserie, and chocolate supplier Puratos is to acquire US-headquartered cookie and muffin-maker Dawn Foods.

The agreement – financial details of which were not disclosed – is now subject to all customary regulatory approvals.

The acquisition brings together two “strong businesses with a passion for providing high-quality products, inspiration and partnership to the professional bakery world”, Puatos said in a statement, published on 10 March.

The agreement reflects “a major long-term step” for Puratos, said chief executive officer Pierre Tossut. “Dawn Foods is a highly respected company with capabilities that complement our own. The agreement shows our ambition to further expand our footprint and capabilities within a space we know well, understand deeply, and have successfully developed over generations,” he added.

Writing on social media a few days after the announcement, Tossut explained how the combination of the two companies would “bring together highly complementary strengths in bakery, patisserie, chocolate, and sweet baked goods”.

Dawn Foods is privately held and headquartered in Michigan in the US.

Puratos: Nine acquisitions since 2017

Puratos has made a series of strategic moves in the past few years in order to fill capability gaps in the Belgium-headquartered business. According to private market data platform, Tracxn, there have been nine acquisitions since 2017, with two already this year.

The acquisition activity spans three sectors: food and beverage products (four acquisitions), food processing (three) and traditional nutraceuticals (one). The businesses purchased also have a global footprint: the US, the UK, and Australia.

Reacting to news of the latest move, industry commentators highlighted that the deal represents a “milestone” for the bakery industry, but also evidence that family-owned companies can scale global impact and stay true to their heritage.

Indeed, Puratos and Dawn Foods have developed distinct and complementary capabilities, both serving professional bakers, pastry chefs, retailers, and food manufacturers by translating consumer trends and insights into ingredient solutions.

Dawn Foods’ large-scale, standardised manufacturing and Puratos’ more flexible and tailored production are thought to be a winning combination. The connection of Dawn Foods’ extensive North American distribution footprint with Puratos’ broad international subsidiary network will also provide more reach.

Dawn Foods has operations across North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and manufactures ingredient solutions for applications such as doughnuts, muffins, cookies, and brownies.

The company’s innovation model is driven by the creation of product concepts, seasonal inspiration, and customer-ready solutions that enable bakeries to differentiate and optimise their assortment. The company also boasts of its “highly efficient production facilities that deliver quality and reliability at scale and has a strong distribution network, particularly in North America”.

Puratos’ expertise is across bakery, patisserie and chocolate, including fermentation, sourdough, grains and seeds, patisserie classics and chocolate. Its innovation approach is strongly rooted in ingredient technology and long-term R&D, translating food science into differentiated ingredient solutions. The company has a global network of local subsidiaries active in 87 countries.

“Dawn has grown into a global business by staying focused on what matters most - our people, our products, and the customers we serve,” said Dawn Foods chief executive officer Carrie Jones-Barber. “As we looked to the future, it was important to find a partner aligned with our values and our long-term view of the business. Like Dawn, Puratos is a family-owned company with a strong heritage and a deep commitment to people, quality, and the baking industry,” she added.