Baby Food Maker Mellin Purchased by Numico Food Group

Royal Numico, a Dutch food and nutrition group announced they have signed an agreement to purchase baby food company Mellin, of Italy, from Findim Group at a reported price of US$529.87m.

"The acquisition of Mellin baby represents an important step forward for our Baby Food strategy in Western Europe,” CEO of Numico, Jan Bennink, stated. Adding that “Mellin complements and significantly strengthens our existing operations in terms of product range, channel presence and market position. The resulting competitive number 2 position in the Italian baby food market provides Numico with the necessary platform and scale to drive growth in this underdeveloped and fragmented market.”

Mellin currently has a 21 percent market share of the Baby Food market in Italy. The weaning food categories and the surging grocery channel are particularly strong positions for Mellin. In recent years Mellin has grown at a rate of 10%, substantially outperforming the growth of the Italian Baby Food market in general.