UNIVERSAL ROBINA CORPORATION OFFLOADS UNISNACK ANZ TO FOCUS ON GROWTH MARKETS

Universal Robina Corporation, the Philippine conglomerate, has announced that it is selling its remaining food industry interests in Australia and New Zealand.

The company is offloading its 60% share in Unisnack ANZ to its joint-venture partner, Intersnack Group, seven years after acquiring interests in the region.

Universal Robina Corporation says it plans to focus on developing countries, which it says have greater growth potential than more mature markets such as Australia and New Zealand.

“We are pleased to be handing full stewardship of these strong businesses to our partner Intersnack, while we continue to focus on other growth segments and geographies across developing markets,” Irwin Lee, Universal Robina Corporation’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

According to reports, Unisnack ANZ’s turnover last year was $580 million (€495.2 million) through its subsidiaries, Griffin’s Foods and Snack Brands Australia.

Griffin’s Foods, described as the largest biscuit producer in New Zealand, has a number of well-known brands, among them Huntley and Palmers and Griffin’s.

Brands under the banner of Snack Brands Australia, which is a major salty snack producer, include Kettle (which is separate to the UK-headquartered Kettle Chips brand), Thins, Jumpy’s and Cheezels.

URC bought Griffin’s Foods for NZ$700 million (€418.2) seven years ago and then, in 2017, it purchased Snack Brands Australia for AUS$600 million (€376.2 million).

Unisnack ANZ was set up as a joint venture with Intersnack in 2019, which purchased a 40% share in the businesses at the time.

Join us at SIAL Paris as exhibitor Join us at SIAL Paris as visitor