Food Concepts Partners Pioneer Foods of South Africa
Food Concepts Plc; a market leader in the West African food industry with a basket of top brands including Chicken Republic, Butterfield Bakery and Free Range Farms, on Monday announced its partnership in its Baked Good Division, with Pioneer Foods; a leading South African FMCG company. Food Concepts Plc was founded by dynamic entrepreneur; Mr. Deji Akinyanju in 2001. The company, whose shareholders include International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank member, and Development Partners International (DPI), a UK based private equity firm focused on African investments, continues to evolve in a remarkable story of a revolution in the Nigerian food sector.
The company recently demerged its Baked Goods Division into Food Concepts Pioneer Limited (FCPL). Pioneer Foods acquired 50.01per cent of FCPL while Food Concepts Plc retains 49.9 per cent. FCPL will house Butterfield Bakeries, a baked goods business specializing in bread and sausage roll production. This will allow Pioneer Foods to leverage existing infrastructure and brand recognition — both crucial elements of consumer packaged-goods companies. Pioneer Foods will implement several operational changes to the Butterfield bakery to increase its efficiency and consistency.
Pionner Foods PTY Ltd is a leading South African FMCG company with a market cap of $3bn, it has globally trusted brands like Ceres Juice, ProNutro, Weet-Bix breakfast cereal etc. Pioneer already has a significant export footprint in a number of African countries, and the conclusion of this partnership with Food Concepts Plc creates an inmarket presence for Pioneer Foods in Nigeria.
Speaking on the partnership Phil Roux, CEO Pioneer Foods said “Butterfield provides an ideal opportunity to leverage our expertise to grow the bread category. Pioneer aims to be a leading FMCG company in Africa and Nigeria is a key market for any food company in search of growth,”
On his part,Deji Akinyanju Chairman of Food Concepts Plc said “the partnership will benefit from the combination of the respective strengths which will be used to tap into the vast opportunities in the Nigerian FMCG sector to deliver extraordinary value to customers.”