R&R scoops up French ice cream unit to rival Unilever

Lambert told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Our aim is to be a serious Number 2 competitor to Unilever in Europe. Unilever is getting stronger everywhere. That’s putting pressure on a lot of family businesses that can’t find the capital to invest – making it a good time for us to acquire new firms​.”

The deal, worth about €17.65M plus stock on completion valued at around €9m, follows R&R’s acquisition of Rolland, France’s third largest ice cream maker for an undisclosed sum last year.

More acquisitions​

Lambert told FoodManufacture.co.uk to expect more acquisitions later this year. “We raised a €​350M bond last year and we have not spent it all yet. We will make one or two acquisitions this year,”​ he predicted.

France was a particularly fertile field for investment, he added. “There is a huge lack of investment in the French ice cream sector. A consolidation of the retail sector has taken place together with rising social costs, which are much higher than in Britain, and the high costs ​[of ice cream manufacturing] means many businesses are not profitable.”​

Meanwhile, Pilpa’s factory in Carcassonne, south west France, will add about 23M litres of ice cream to the 450M litres that R&R already produces each year.

Pilpa, with 154 employees, is a leading supplier of own-label ice cream to French supermarkets. The firm also has a strong presence in the branded sector through products marketed under the Disney, Oasis and Pilpa brands.

Lionel Rolland, who joined R&R with last year’s acquisition of Rolland, has assumed management board responsibility for France. Rolland said: “I have seen at first hand the benefits of R&R’s management skills, product innovation and operational scale. ​

“Pilpa adds great branded products, as well as its private label portfolio, and some really good people. We will continue to combine all the best qualities of our French businesses to create a successful and profitable R&R Ice Cream business in France.” ​

Marketing director​

Fabrice Ducasse, previously sales and marketing director of Maison Boncolac, has joined R&R France to become the French business’s sales and marketing director.

The Roland business operates two factories at Plouédern in Brittany and in the Poitou Charente region of central western France.

The business has 520 employees and produces some 65 million litres of branded, private label and licensed ice cream products annually.

It is particularly strong in the supermarket sector largely selling own label products to Carrefour, Metro and Leclerc in France and Tesco in the UK. It also has a presence in the home delivery and foodservice markets.

France accounts for about 75% of sales but Rolland also sells to nearly 20 countries worldwide, including Japan.