SWITZERLAND – Flavour and fragrance producer, Givaudan has entered into an agreement to divest its processed and grated cheese business to St. Paul Group as part of the company’s strategic moves to focus on it core business.

Givaudan acquired the processed and grated cheese business acquired from Vika BV in September 2017. The company did not disclose the terms of the sale to St. Paul Group, a cheese specialist with premises in Belgium and the Netherlands.

However, the Swiss ingredients supplier said that the processed and grated cheese business contributed CHF13.5million (approximately US$14 million) to its Flavour Division sales in 2019.

If the divestiture goes through, Givaudan said that it will retain the majority of the legacy Vika BV business and continue to offer cheese powder solutions, vegetable and meat fonds and stocks as part of its natural dairy and savoury product portfolio

“With the sale of our processed and grated cheese business we aim to strengthen the focus on our core business and continue to drive long-term shareholder value,” said Louie D’Amico, President Flavour Division, Givaudan.

“We truly appreciate the contributions of our processed and grated cheese business employees and look forward to working with the St. Paul team to ensure a successful handover.”

St. Paul Group is a mid-sized family company with sales just above EUR 50 million. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a major supplier of cheese solutions for the food industry with a strong focus on Europe but with considerable and growing sales volumes in the rest of the world.

Commenting on the deal with Givaudan, Dieter Kuijl, Chief Executive Officer of St. Paul Group, said that the acquisition will help the company to expand its range of products and applications.

“We are delighted with this transaction as it represents an attractive opportunity to further build St Paul’s customer base in ready meals, snacks and processed food. In addition, St Paul will now also be able to offer a wider range of products and applications,” Dieter said.

As Givaudan continues to redefine its portfolio and focus on its core business, the company announced in February this year that it had completed the acquisition of Ungerer & Company, the US based Flavour, Fragrance and Specialty Ingredients company.

Headquartered in New Jersey, USA, Ungerer is one of the leading companies in the flavour and fragrance specialty ingredients business, most notably in essential oils, which provides a rich palette of predominantly natural ingredients for flavour and fragrance creation, as well as for end customers of such specialties.