Azelis adds smoke ingredients to its portfolio with Smoky Light acquisition

NETHERLANDS – Food ingredient solutions supplier Azelis has acquired Smoky Light, an established smoke ingredients distributor in the Benelux region market.

Smoky Light B. V (Smoky Light) offers smoke, grill, browning agents and cooking flavours and additives for the food and nutrition industry, from its own formulation laboratory in the Netherlands.

It was first established in 1995 and is currently managed by Ahrend Buckers who will continue to lead the business and support the transition into Azelis, as per the terms of the deal.

This acquisition is intended to strengthen Azelis’ presence in the Benelux region market as well as expand its footprint in the smoke ingredient market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The product portfolio of Smoky Lights strategically complements Azelis’ lateral value chain for the food and nutrition market and the merger will help also expand its expertise and product offering to its customers.

This transaction will not only contribute to Azelis’ range of aroma formulations, but also build on to their growth strategy. It is also intended to strengthen Azelis’ relationship with its long-established partners.

“Joining Azelis will support our further growth in the Benelux in the short term,” said Ahrend Buckers.

“In the long run, we are looking forward to entering a wider smoke ingredients industry which is now possible for us thanks to Azelis’ strong infrastructure in that market.”

We are very excited and proud to be part of a leading global innovative distributor and to contribute to its success.”

Azelis, with a turnover of €2.8 billion (US$3B) in 2021, has a presence in over 57 countries around the world and employs about 3000 workers.

Azelis expands in South Asia

The company recently established its presence in Bangladesh further bolstering its presence in the South Asia region.

Azelis said that the opening of its first office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is an integral part of the group’s organic growth strategy.

With the office, Azelis aims to strengthen its footprint across the South Asian continent and provide additional solutions and expertise to customers.

“Through our new Bangladesh office, we aim to support our existing principals by bringing their product portfolio to a larger audience, leading to new and untapped opportunities in a market with high potential,” said Vivek Pandey, Azelis India business manager and Bangladesh country manager.

“We will also be able to better support local customers directly, by bringing our sales capabilities, technical expertise, and supply chain solutions closer to them.”

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