Major General James G. Blunt

This article is about Kerry Group. For Kerry Properties, see Kerry Properties.

Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges.

Kerry's Main Factory in Listowel

Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant interest in the company.

History

Kerry was founded in 1972 in Listowel, County Kerry as a private company (North Kerry Milk Products) with three shareholders – state-owned Dairy Disposal Company (42.5%), a federation of eight small farmer co-operatives in Kerry (42.5%) and Erie Casein Company Inc. from the US (15%).[3]

In 1986, a significant milestone in the formation of the public limited company involved the Group acquiring the undertaking, property and assets of Kerry Co-operative Creameries and as a consideration 90 million ordinary shares in Kerry Group plc being issued to the Co-op.[4] It floated on the Irish Stock Exchange at a price of 52p per share.[5]

Kerry Group has a long history of acquisitions. In 1982, the company acquired pork manufacturer Duffy Meats and Henry Denny & Sons.[6]

In 2000, it acquired Shade Foods Inc, a US sweet ingredients provider for US$80 million,[7] Armor Foods, a savory flavorings company for US$35 million[8] and Solnuts, a provider of value-added soy-based nutritional ingredients.[9]

In March 2004, the company bought the Quest Food Ingredients Group, a food ingredients business, for US$440 million.[10] Then in August 2005, the company acquired Noon Products, a supplier of Indian and Thai ready meals, for £124m.[11]

In September 2012, the company acquired Cargill Flavor Systems, a manufacturer of food flavouring, for $230 million.[12]

In February 2015, the company acquired Rollover, a supplier of hot dogs.[13] Then in October 2015, the company acquired Red Arrow Products, Island Oasis and Wellmune, three businesses in the US taste and nutrition sector, for US$735 million.[14]

In June 2021, Pilgrim's Pride agreed to buy Kerry Group's consumer foods in the meat and meals business.[15] In June 2021, Kerry Group also agreed to acquire Niacet for the value of €853 million.[16]

In July 2021, the company acquired Biosearch Life, a biotechnology company focused on the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and functional food sectors.[17]

In February 2022, Kerry Group announced two acquisitions: c-LEcta, a biotechnology company, and Enmex, a Mexican based enzyme manufacturer.[18]

In April 2022, Kerry Group acquired Natreon, Inc, a US based supplier of branded Ayurvedic botanical ingredients.[19]

In August 2022, Kerry Group acquired the B2B powdered cheese business and related assets of The Kraft Heinz Company for consideration of $107.5 million.[20]

In January 2023, IRCA, Advent International’s portfolio company, agreed to buy Kerry Group’s Sweet Ingredients Portfolio for €500 million.[21]

Operations

Headquartered in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, the Group employs over 23,000 people in its manufacturing, sales and technical centres worldwide.[22] Kerry's global Technology Centre is in Naas, County Kildare and employs 800 people.[23] Kerry supplies over 18,000 foods, food ingredients and flavour products to customers in more than 140 countries.[3] Kerry is a member of the European Flavour Association.[24]

Business structure

The Group operates across two business:

  • Taste & Nutrition
  • Kerry Dairy Ireland[22]

Brands

Brands include:[25]

  • Big Train
  • Island Oasis
  • DaVinci Gourmet[26]
  • Golden Dipt[26]
  • Ravifruit[26]

Rankings

In 2021, Kerry was on the list of Industry Outlook's Top 10 Food Additive Manufacturers,[27] in addition to being ranked second on the Top 20 Global Food Preservative Companies list by FoodTalks, a Chinese food media platform.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Kerry Group. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  2. ^ "About us". Kerry Group. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Kerry's cathedral of discovery". Irish Examiner. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  4. ^ Research Handbook on Sustainable Co-operative Enterprise: Case Studies of Organisational Resilience in the Co-operative Business Model. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2014. p. 73. ISBN 9781783472024.
  5. ^ "Kerry's qualities make it a good buy". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  6. ^ Hubert, S. Keyes and T. (18 June 2021). "Kerry had a profitable meat business with strong brands – and it made sense to sell it". The Currency. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Kerry in $80m buy from Swiss". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ foodnavigator.com. "Kerry buys Armour Food". foodnavigator.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  9. ^ "In The Know: Whopper Deal | Prepared Foods". www.preparedfoods.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Purchase-hungry Kerry Group buys Quest for $440m". Irish Emigrant. 3 March 2004. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Kerry Group buys Noon Products". The Grocer. 9 August 2005. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Kerry buys Cargill Flavor System for $230 million". Natural Products Insider. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Kerry Group gobbles up hot dog supplier Rollover". The Telegraph. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Kerry Group Buys Three Food Companies for $735 Million". Powder and Bulk Solids. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Kerry Group to sell consumer foods meat and meals business to Pilgrim's Pride". Reuters. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Kerry Group acquires preservation group Niacet for €853m". The Irish Times. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Kerry completes Biosearch Life acquisition". Dairy Reporter. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Kerry acquires German and Mexican biotechnology companies". Dairy Reporter. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Kerry Completes Acquisition of Science-Backed Branded Botanical Extract Company Natreon". Food Industry Executive. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Kerry Group agrees €107.5m deal to acquire cheese business from Kraft Heinz". Food Industry Executive. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Kerry sells sweet ingredients portfolio to Advent for 500 mln euros". Food Industry Executive. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Kerry Group. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Kerry Group Officially Opens New Innovation Centre in Naas". Irish Farmers Journal. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  24. ^ "About EFFA". EFFA. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  25. ^ "Brands". Kerry Group. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  26. ^ a b c "Company of the Month June 2022: Kerry Group, "a reminder of the potential any business starting in North Kerry can have"". Business & Finance. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Top 10 Food Additive Manufacturers - 2021 | Industry Outlook". www.theindustryoutlook.com. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  28. ^ "2021年FoodTalks全球食品防腐剂企业20强揭晓：LANXESS，Kerry、天津东大位列前三！". we.foodtalks.cn. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Group