The Eckes-Granini Group GmbH continues to strengthen its position as a leading producer of branded fruit beverages in Europe. The company today announced its acquisition of Swedish premium fruit juice producer Brämhults Juice AB in a 100-percent takeover from Mellby Gård Industri AB on July 1, 2007. Brämhults is the only producer in the growing segment of chilled, locally pressed fruit juices in the Nordic region. Consumers appreciate the brand's unique freshness, quality and excellent taste.
This acquisition represents another important milestone in Eckes-Granini’s European growth strategy and also expands its presence to the Scandinavian markets. The company is already present with subsidiaries in Finland and Lithuania. Following the acquisition of Brämhults through the newly founded Eckes-Granini Scandinavia, the Eckes-Granini Group now has 11 national subsidiaries operating across Europe.
“Our goal is to increase Eckes-Granini’s earnings and company value on the basis of strong brands. And the premium producer Brämhults is a perfect fit for our strategy and philosophy,” explained Thomas Hinderer, CEO of the Eckes- Granini Group. “Chilled products are becoming increasingly important in Europe. And thus we expect the takeover to yield key synergetic effects for the group as well as strong potential for future growth”, Hinderer emphasized.
The rational behind Mellby Gård Industri’s decision to sell Brämhults is, that during Mellby’s ownership, which started in 1999, sales have increased approx. six times through growth in the Scandinavian markets driven by brand-building activities and significant gains in distribution in the grocery and convenience markets. Brämhults is positioned for further growth in its current markets but in addition Mellby also believes that other European markets offer future growth opportunities in the chilled juice category. Mellby has during the last year evaluated alternative options to position Brämhults to capitalize on this market potential and have concluded that the sale of Brämhults to one of the leading pan-European juice companies is an excellent alternative. According to Chairman Rune Andersson, “Eckes-Granini was definitely our buyer of choice. We are convinced that Brämhults can look ahead to a successful future under this umbrella.”
Founded in 1947 and named after the town of Brämhults in south-western Sweden, with a staff of about 60 employees and two production facilities, the fruit juice manufacturer generated turnover of 27 million Euros (255 million SEK) during the last financial year (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007). Brämhults has developed dynamically in recent years, recording growth rates of over 30 %. The company is ranked number 2 (in market share value) in Sweden and number 3 in Denmark. Efforts to establish a foothold in the Norwegian and Finnish markets have produced gratifying results thus far. The company has also been selected as an official supplier of high-quality, freshly-squeezed juices to the Swedish royal family.
“Relying on the broad base of local know-how, we will build on the success achieved by Brämhults in recent years”, explained Hinderer. Present supervisory board members Stefan Elving and Rolf Bjerndell will remain on the supervisory board of Brämhults Juice AB. Eckes-Granini plans to invest approx. 5 million Euro (50 million SEK) to expand production capacity, primarily at the Brämhults facility.