Jamaica Producers buys new juice businesses in Europe
Published:Friday | March 24, 2023 | 12:52 AM
Food and logistics company Jamaica Producers Group Limited has widened its European footprint with the 100 per cent acquisition of The Juicy Group NV and HPP Belgium NV.
The acquisition was completed on March 21, 2023, according to a release, which did not give financial details on the transaction.
Jamaica Producers CEO Jeffrey Hall did not respond to requests for comment.
However, the deal strengthens JP’s position in the European market for freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. JP now has production facilities and commercial offices in Zwanenburg, Netherlands; Binche, Belgium; and Barcelona, Spain.
“This acquisition furthers our strategic objective of being a pan-European leader in the fresh juice business. It allows us to expand our production capacity, drive innovation and serve our core customers even better. We congratulate the JP team in Europe for delivering on this project for the wider group,” Hall said in a statement.
From three production locations, which Jamaica Producers says have their own specialisation and core customers, the JP Group’s European juice operation offers a range of cold-pressed fresh juices and smoothies in common packaging forms. It makes use of advanced ultra-fresh and high-pressure processing technology in all its facilities, JP said.
The Juicy Group and HPP Belgium join AL Hoogesteger Fresh Specialist in the Netherlands and its majority holding in Co-Beverage Lab in Spain, in the portfolio of juice assets owned by JP in Europe.
The Juicy Group has sold fresh juices, salads and smoothies for over 25 years in Belgium. The company also makes juices on behalf of clients by way of its private-label juices. No specific information on HPP Belgium was readily available.
The acquisition will form part of the assets that will be transferred to the new Pan Jamaica Group, which is being created from the amalgamation of PanJam Investments Limited and the operational assets of Jamaica Producers Group, set for completion in the second quarter of 2023.